KENYA MUSIC INDUSTRY SCAM

WOULD MOZART BE HAPPY WITH MCSK IN HIS UNMARKED GRAVE?

2014-08-13T06:36:00.000+03:00

WOULD MOZART BE HAPPY WITH MCSK IN HIS UNMARKED GRAVE?

Article by Stephen Omondi

The day I was signing up for membership with MCSK in Kisumu, the attendant there gave me a copy of an article that explains the reasons behind the formation of Music copyright society of Kenya. In the article, the phrase that caught my attention was about Mozart.

True to the tune Mozart was a great pianist and composer who even after the loss of his hearing ability still wrote some the most used music in our days. It is claimed that the music he wrote after the tragic loss of his hearing were the best.

Years later after the death of Mozart, the MCSK (Music Copyright Society of Kenya), are basing their ground on Royalty collection on the fact that Mozart despite his fame died poor and was buried in unmarked grave.

The Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) claims that had there been a royalty collection agency during the days of Mozart, Mozart would have not died poor and his burial would have been more of a decent one than the one he was given.

They claim that at the time of his death, his music was widely used throughout America of which as a royalty collection agency, they would have made millions from the unexploited music industry of the time although the decision to share those millions with Mozart would solely depend on the board of directors decision and whether their office expenses did not exceed the total royalty revenue collected.

Outwardly and without careful observation of MCSK claims, I felt that this was it. As a famous musician as I would soon be, I need someone to put pressure on those people listening to my music in their business places to pay some fee as an appreciation to my intellectual art and creation and forgot to understand that the success of any music project depended solely on followers, that is the fan base.

While the idea of royalty collection seemed flawless at that time, it took me some time to understand why a group of individuals came together under legalized umbrella called MCSK. These individuals as they have made me understand them, are prepared to fight to the death to maintain right to act on behalf of musicians who some stricken with hunger and suffering still have guts to save the little cash they earn for their music projects.

With age and experience in the music field, It dawned on me sooner that as a writer, performer and producer, the most important thing that should happen to all of us above all is for our musical works to reach the desired audience in time.

Moreover to someone who writes and performs gospel songs it is my mandate to go into the world and preach the good news regardless of whether my audience is financially active or inactive. The good news I preach through my musical work will live beyond my life in this body but would I be happy to see some group of people who cared less about me while I was still alive run around in tinted flashy cars raiding businesses and homes demanding royalty payment from my fans as if my fans rented my album CDs?

Anyway how much should someone pay for listening to my music? Should after buying my album CD be subjected to pay for listening to it? Some music like the ones we write and sing are meant to revive weary souls and to refresh the mind so that people can become more fruitful to the society and to God.

Would Mozart be happy in his unmarked grave to see a registered group of people restricting the use of his work after going through thick and thin to bring out the melodic tunes in his heart and mind just because they have a piece of paper detailing that they are authorized to act lawlessly and immoral?

Definitely NO, and big is the NO.

I wouldn’t be happy either, whether in this body or out of this body because it is the word of the Great King that everyone should hear about him with or without perishable money.

Moreover singing brings true joy and happiness bundled with peace to my soul and that’s why I can endure the heat of the sun, the cold of the night and more or less the mockery of the oppressor just to make a few shillings that can get me to the studio.

All this joy and happiness is not complete if the people I’m communicating to do not have the peace of mind while listening my lyrical messages.

Moreover as a follower of Christ singing and praising is my way of sacrifice and not a means to wealthy living, though all this sounds like a heavy drum to the brains behind MCSK because they have been blinded by the blood money they continue to earn through violence from every one of us.

This form of violence is meted out against us in a manner hard to detect from the look of things but the following information should suffice to expose this form of spiritual wickedness.

First and foremost any musician who has signed up with MCSK loses the right to act on self. This means that MCSK can sell your right of ownership to anyone in their wish list whether you are alive or dead.

How does this happen you ask? Good question.

I am a living testimony…….

After submitting my application for membership with MCSK in 2006 things got rather hard. In 2009 while on a rare Google search, I hit several pages from different major music outlets on the net with my music on their shelves. These included Yahoo, Amazon, iTunes etc, you name it.

At one time I had to buy my own music for R7 per track from a South African company from the internet to prove that I wasn’t dreaming.

After this I tried to make calls to the MCSK head office to find out what was happening but every time my call was picked by a lady who always put me on hold asking me to wait so that she could inform the manager that someone is on the line.

Delaying tactics………………..huh?

I had to give up and wait for another opportunity.

Around the same time I shot an amateur video on one of my songs, keep on moving under a fake name and uploaded it on YouTube. Several weeks later I got a message from YouTube claiming that a certain company is laying claim on the audio.

Embarrassing! Isn’t it? Yes, but nay this was a major breakthrough in the investigation we were conducting since we had reliable information that my one and only album of six tracks was sold to a white woman at a price of 6,000 US Dollars about KES540, 000.

Who sold it you ask?

Well, the information MCSK collects from its members is overwhelming. During our sign up we were subjected to reveal even the instruments we used.

Now with a copy of your national ID and your signature, what else can you expect?

Another thing to put into consideration was that all the songs that belonged to MCSK members are tagged with Music Copyright Society of Kenya as a record label (Record label is a technical word that means that Music Copyright Society of Kenya owned the music and the musician).

How did MCSK come to own me and my music? Did it contribute a cent or a phrase or even a slight idea to my music project? Nay, but as we have established, royalty collection is just a means to lure and collect important information from unsuspecting artists, then use the collected information during auction.

The recent shaking in the MCSK pointed us to another clue that an external force is at work. This could as we are about to establish be a very strong and rich person or family with either political and religious interest or a group of people with the same interest of the former.

How did you come to know all this? You ask.

Well, time has a way of making dead things stink. If MCSK as a society was founded on lure, rob and silence foundation then it is a dead organ and Kenyans and Musicians should be ready to bear the stench if it is not buried sooner.

We know that God has enemies as it is written in the book of Psalms chapter 2.

“Why do the heathen rage and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us”.

We also understand that there are few Christ followers and true God worshippers in this nation. Many are attached to Christian faith for spying for the devil and self gain and will do the devils biddings at any given opportunity.

When we are violently robbed off of what is rightfully ours as Christians we come to the knowledge that truly we belong to Christ. As it is written in book of Revelation chapter 12

“And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ”.

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Anti-Piracy War proponents have lost touch with God

2013-02-10T19:20:00.000+03:00

Anti-Piracy War proponents have lost touch with God

The TV advert is a reviling.

Frankly speaking if a distributor cannot sell a million copies of your album in 1 year in a 40 million population, you are better selling your CD on your own. Worse then is if you have a fan base throughout east Africa not excluding Africa or the rest of the world. 1,000,000 copies if divided by 365 days (1year) equal 2,740 copies per day. 2,740 copies per day if divided by 47 counties you get 58 copies per county per day.

So logically it is possible unless your distributor is not telling you the truth or he/she have people in his/her budget feeding on your sweat without your knowledge. The people in this budget could be people like the Artur brothers or just local medicine men in your neighborhood standing by to finish you anytime they get the green light. Organized is the crime! Read More…………………

how mcsk officials trick musicians

2011-05-09T07:22:00.000+03:00

How MCSK officials trick musicians

The testimony of a member of MCSK

First and foremost i want to bring your attention to my experience during the process of Attaining membership registration with music copyright society of Kenya (mcsk). Music copyright society of Kenya (mcsk) is a legal body with mandate to collect and distribute royalties to Music creators of Kenya. These are the composers of the music you hear daily in your local fm radios, national television stations and so on.

It was back in 2005 after my first recording when i thought of an organization that could help me safeguard and protect My creations and give me a sense of social belonging as I continue with the work of creating more and more music.

After some enquiries I was informed by a friend that there is a body resembling the description with its office at the Kenya national assurance 4th floor. The next day I made haste to above address inwardly rejoicing that truly God leveled the ground for me.

it is good to note that back in 2005 music copyright society of Kenya (mcsk) had less than 700 members countrywide and had not began paying royalties To its members and annual spending on the running of office exceeded the annual collection. A good example is the 2003/2004 balance sheet that showed that music copyright society of kenya (mcsk) collected about 70 million in royalty and other collectable fees And used slightly above the figure to run it's office leaving artists with nothing to share but a deficit.

As I mentioned before i was happy and the name music copyright society of Kenya (mcsk) made me happier and hopeful that me and my music will be in safe hands, safe hands because the history of music creation world has never been so favorable to the music makers themselves and the story of people like Mozart bear me witness.

As I rushed through the busy streets of kisumu from my residence in obunga slums (it has only been few days between 3 to 5 days since I collected my master cd from the studio) to the central business district I felt a sense of security about the whole matter of becoming a member of music copyright society of Kenya (MCSK). The dream of almost every musician if I’m not wrong is to be recognized. It had been along struggle to reach this day and I hoped for a slight light to beam in my world of darkness and bring about a financial revolution. For 3 years I have been operating a boda boda business (bicycle mode of transport) to raise money enough to see me through the recording.

It’s around 10 am and today I haven’t carried any customer. The street seems normal as usual as hooting from PSVs and the shouts” kondele-manyatta” dominate the scene. There are customers calling from either sides requiring boda boda service but I kept going paddling at a slower pace to enable me gather my thoughts together.

After few minutes I paddle into the main road (Kakamega Rd that connects to Jomo Kenyatta highway) which one white woman (a missionary at a local church) asked me not to use when ferrying her to town center saying that she doesn’t like using that “Crazy road”.

And now that I am through with the recording a feeling of insecurity is crippling in my mind of what shall become of my music because even to my neighbors I’m not known to posses such gift of singing.

The history of Musicians in Kenya has never been that good not only because of lack of financial support but also because of the people who might want to exploit their music in their absence with forged documents. These people as per my view and my experience were the people with monetary strength and knowledge on intellectual property and copyright issues. They also have access to music market already affected with high demand for music.

The lot I mentioned in the preceding paragraph (I presumed later) made It hell for people talented with ability to create music. As a tradition in the world we are living in, high sales in album record is experienced when an artist dies and this as per my view again worked opposite for these talented guys while crediting scammers I mentioned before with power in their operations.

NB: continue to check us out for the completion of this intriguing true story and more.....

100 QUESTIONS FOR MUSIC COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF KENYA

2010-08-30T22:28:00.003+03:00

20 compelling questions for Music Copyright Society of Kenya

1. Is MCSK a scam or is it’s officials abusing the power granted to it by the constitution?

2. Who monitors the activities of MCSK?

3. How much does MCSK collects and how much does it spends on the running of its offices?

4. What other functions MCSK represents apart from collecting and distributing royalties?

5. Is MCSK right to strike deals on behalf of its members? If yes, what method does this body uses to monitor music sales transacted over the internet? Is the method transparent? And if it is, those represented, are they being served with records showing the transactions?

6. Is it right for MCSK to label a member’s work Published by MCSK when it knows very well that the term publisher means the owner, composer or the original creator of such work?

7. If a member wants to pull out of this organization what is the time period for processing pullout requests and what is the procedure?

8. Does MCSK update its members contact information?
a) If no, why?
b) And if yes, how long does it take to update a member’s contact?
c) And how many contact updates request have they undertaken in the past 2 years?
d) Can MCSK produce updated members contact list?

9. Does MCSK as a society frustrates members who do not agree with its way of running things? And if they do, how much power granted to this society by the constitution to oversee the downfall of its disgruntled members?

10. Does MCSK officials charged with overseeing the welfare of Musicians in this country cahoots with corrupt music studio owners and music shop owners to deprive musicians their intellectual property right by manipulating the ownership of works submitted to it by its members?

11. Do all registered members of this society receive their yearly royalties and if not why? If yes, can MCSK as a transparent non profit making organization provide all the payment records since its formation?

12. Can MCSK account for unpaid royalties?

13. What method does MCSK uses to reach each and every one of its members? Is the method convenient to an extent that all its members get notification in time? If no, why?

14. Does this number (020 4440970) belong to MCSK? If it is why doesn’t anyone pick it when dialed?

15. Why MUSIC COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF KENYA instead of COMPOSERS AND PUBLISHERS SOCIETY OF KENYA while there is KENYA COPYRIGHT BOARD?
Good examples are MCSK affiliates ASCAP or (American Society of Composers and Publishers) and BMI or (Broadcast Music Inc.) isn’t MCSK for MUSIC COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF KENYA and KCB for KENYA COPYRIGHT BOARD confusing?

16. Should there be two copyright bodies in one country or is one body enough like the Library of congress in the United States or is this an African way of running things?

17. Why is MCSK website full of images showing sponsors instead of Musicians on whose feet it stands? Is this a mockery or is MCSK a begging bowl? Or isn’t this a ploy by MCSK officials to fool the government and the public that it still depends on sponsors?

18. Why are certain links on MCSK website like distribution dates, Events calendar, money matters, and economic effects in the society points back to home page where there are no contents suggested by the links?

19. Who manages MCSK website and how often is this site updated?

Note: Since the Government of Kenya through the Kenya Copyright Board made a bold move to deregister MCSK Read More here to save the Music Industry a visit to the above site (www.mcsk.or.ke) wont do you any good.

20. Is MCSK a political party where majority rules?

MCSK was founded on the background of fighting for the (weak) since musicians could not collect their royalties from those exploiting their music and it is on this background that MCSK need to reach to each and every one of its members just as it strives to collect royalties from every music user in this country and its affiliates not just a few and not even 99.9999% but 100.0%.

21. Does MCSK live up to this objective and mission?

22. How does MCSK help all of its members raise capital for production of their music like other music societies the world over?

23. Is MCSK stealthily fighting those it is suppose to protect?

While almost 95% of its members cannot afford to buy newspaper on daily basis, about the same percentage of all MSCK members has or have access to at least a basic mobile phone.
24. Why is MCSK insist on using daily newspapers to announce things like AGM, royalty payment in the wake of information technology advancement age where sending SMS and or Email is as less as a single click for blast Email or SMS.

25. Who handles MCSK member’s complaints?

26. Why Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) pushed Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to introduce a sticker that will drive the cost of producing original DVDs and CDs by 50% KRA rejects MCSK proposal. The fact these stickers are not directly purchased from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) KRA played the MCSK way is also a question of another corruption avenue.

If MCSK cannot answer these compelling issues that threaten the welfare of its members, then it has outlived it use.

Summary
Bodies like MCSK, KFF, KPL etc needs a close check by the government, the public, affiliates and its members. These bodies can be great tools to eliminate poverty if not abused, but can be killing weapons (talent wise and life wise) if managed poorly, unprofessionally and unethically.