Ghafla Exclusive: Mdundo Pays Artists 4 Shillings In Royalties
Mdundo is a first in the country. they were the first to set up a digital outlet for artists to get out their music -and they did so in an organized, transparent manner. That was a huge turn around from the way things had been in the past when Kenyan artists simply knew that they had received royalties without knowing how the calculations were made.
A couple of days back, I even put up an article celebrating the fact that Mdundo had paid out royalties but even before the dust could settle, I was accosted by an unimpressed femcee who told me that Mdundo had paid some artists the grand total of 4 shillings.
Aye, you read that dugit right. There are artists such as Laika who only earned 4.00/-!
That isn’t enough to buy an orbit (P.K) chewing gum. But what gives? For those of you not in the know, the Mdundo platform is an avenue through which Kenyan artists get their music out to people who are interested in downloading the. This week, the most downloaded songs were:
1. Delillah – Hopekid
2. Message sound – DJ Lyta
3. Upande wa pili wa sarafu – P The MC (NEW!!!)
4. Wasumbufu Wa Kizazi feat. Kad Go & Songa – One The Incredible
5. Mwanake feat. Kaberere – Benachi
6. Stars spell my name feat. African ID – Young Morgan
7. Bado Nakupenda feat. Safari Sound Band – Rabbit Kaka Sungura
8. Hiphop MC – Malle (NEW!!!)
9.Kereka – DK Kwenye Beat
10. Nitasubiri – Jux
11. Prokoto feat. Ommy Dimpoz & Diamond– Victoria Kimani
12. Toborra – Diddi Kimer (NEW!!!)
13. MaMa feat. Whiz Vic & Miss Tee – Lil Felly (NEW!!!)
14. Dear Gambe feat. Belle 9 – Young Killer (NEW!!!)
15.Usikonde – Mr Seed
16. Gitumi (The Reason) – Harry Kimani
17. Sheria – Sarabi
18. Haiwi Haiwi – Wendy Kimani
19. Nikikutazama Live At RawMdundo – H_art The Band (Penya Africa)
20. Lupita Nyong’o (Kamba) – Ken Wa Maria
21. Murdah – Kevoh Yout
22. Naweza – Parking Lot Grass (NEW!!!)
23. Woman In Love – Vivian (NEW!!!)
24. Shillingi Yangu feat. KenRazy & DNA – Visita (Grandpa Records)
25. Dunia Ina Mambo – Just A Band
So what gives? Could it be that the artists who only earned nominal royalties didn’t garner downloads? And if this is the case, who is to blame? Because you cannot blame a platform that is there to help you. And they even cleared the air with this statement:
What does an artist stand to gain when they join Mdundo.com?
At Mdundo, we pride ourselves in being transparent. Once music is uploaded, an artist is able to track each download they receive. They can also submit news stories and keep an updated profile for their fans. We also have a dedicated team to assist in any queries, new content, industry-related communication and music promotion. As mentioned earlier, Mdundo has created events and initiatives for the benefit of our artists. And lastly, unlike other digital distribution platforms, Mdundo pays out royalties to our artists on a quarterly based on downloads. We are currently collecting artists metadata in initiative that will allow us to partner with platforms like iTunes and increase our artists reach. It’s clear that Mdundo is on the right track and has the artist best interests at heart.
