Tag: Kenyan Artists News

Kenyan Artists Deserve More After Showing Solidarity In Jamhuri Celebrations

Posted on by Dennis Elnino

The Jamhuri Day celebrations held at the Nyayo Stadium attracted thousands of Kenyans who were eager to listen to new reforms by President William Ruto. The celebrations were highly anticipated; and was a success.

It was cosseted by numerous Kenyan artists, who showed up in huge numbers to entertain netizens; and of course, the President himself.

The Permanent Presidential Music Commission (PPMC) said it was putting together a roster of both young and seasoned musicians as well as dancers.

Some of the artists who performed included;  Chris Adwar, Atemi, Manasseh Shalom, Serro and Wambura Mitaru while ‘Kuna Kuna’ hit maker Brandy Maina, Ndovu Kuu, Jovial, Masauti, Faith Stan, Dufla Diligon among others.

Artists Deserve More

Njugush cracks up crowd during Jamhuri Day fete

Kenyan artists are under-rated; even though they have not given their all. We’ve seen how immensely we’re talented. And I believe the Government should invest more in the entertainment industry. Remember when Eric Omondi was rooting for the 75% play KE bill to be passed? It should definitely be passed to support our artists.

Artists Who Have Felt The Pinch

It’s not peculiar for Kenyans to have a fund-raising to help artists. The likes of Omosh and comedian Akuku Danger. They reached a point where they could no longer hide the fact that they were not making enough to sustain themselves. Remember the MCSK scandal? Where artists complained of being paid peanuts? What does that mean? There’s not enough to help our artists sustain themselves. That’s why they don’t fancy showbiz like International artists.

MCSK should be transparent with artists

Posted on by David Kingsley

I have been following the drama that has pitted the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) against local artists over the last two weeks and I realized a couple of things that I thought I should share with you.

First, it’s pretty obvious that MCSK failed at dissemination of information. You see, most artists received Ksh. 2530 from the body and they didn’t really know what the money was for and this led them to conclude that it was payment for their songs.

Khaligraph Jones
Khaligraph Jones

However, if MCSK had made them understand that the money was distributed evenly to the 14,000 members of the body as a flat payment i.e. by virtue of belonging to the organisation, I don’t think any of them would have come out to protest.

When the storm started brewing, MCSK explained that the money that most artists had received was for being a member of the organisation. They also told artists that they would get their royalties in October. However, it was too little too late.

Secondly, MCSK needs to be transparent with artists because this tiff about royalties has existed since the early 2000s when the body was formulated. I can still remember the day Poxy Presha staged a protest while demanding his dues.

Artists should get a breakdown of their royalties to see how the final amount that they are getting was arrived at. Otherwise, we’ll continue seeing situations where they wait for artists to raise a red flag and then they are given more money.

Timmy Tdat

Lastly, MCSK should create a portal where artists can log in and update their new songs. As things are now, an artist has to go to their offices, presumably with a CD, to let the body know that they has a new song. Why is this still happening in 2019?