GHAFLA! INVESTIGATES: Unmasking the notorious Muthurwa Music Pirates

 

“The world is a man eat man society.” This is a famous quote that best describes music piracy in Kenya. Despite most Kenyan artistes spending millions in production, their music is cheaply sold in the streets. So next time you hear a popular Kenyan artist is struggling to pay bills, know that piracy is the virus.

Government bodies such as MCSK have done little to nab the music pirates.

But where does the real music piracy take place? My investigations led me to Muthurwa Market, notoriously known for music piracy. Here, pirating music dens are dimly tucked in small wooden sheds. Young music pirates are busy with laptops pirating local music.

Huge boxes full of local pirate music albums are all over the table. Some merciless music pirates are busy packing the albums in huge cartons to be transported to different towns across the country.

From popular Kikuyu and Luo music, to the new age music, the ruthless music pirates understand their game.

I pretend I am a businessman who sells local musical CDs and need a new stock. One of the cartel leaders known as “Vaite” welcomes me warmly. He politely asks me the type of music albums I want to purchase. I decide to settle on Sauti Sol’s and Gloria Muliro’s albums since they are so hot in the market. To my shock, these albums are sold at KSh. 25 bob, yet the same original musical albums are sold at KShs. 500 at major licensed musical outlets. But how do the music pirates get the musical albums they mercilessly pirate?

They either buy an original copy and dub, or else download the videos from YouTube and compile them into a VCD.

More shocking is that these piracy dons are located just near the Muthurwa market entrance. Further investigations reveal that young men are employed to man the piracy dens to monitor the MCSK officials.

According to Pulse, sometime back some popular artists, led by kamande-wa-kioi, invaded the piracy dens in the market, but were welcomed by bloody machete-wielding music pirates. Their call to MCSK to act fast on the vice went unanswered. But more questions are left unanswered, since the piracy dens are located just near the gate. Local artists spend millions of shillings(over 300,000) in production and they need to make profits. MCSK should tighten their loop and eradicate these music pirates. If serious action is not taken against these merciless cartels, music will stop being of economical value to our Kenyan artists.

Note:

albums sold at 20 but due to increase of blank cds, there was a rise

pirated CDs are transported to major towns such as kisumu, mombasa and eldoret.

some MCSK officials suspected of collaborating with the pirates, since one of the guys was heard asking when MCSK officials will come again to get their dues