Defending the rights of musicians

The music industry has not been thriving of late. From issues of lack of proper market, to matters of plagiarism the picture is not rosy. Our Entertainment Editor Edith Gondwe had this exclusive interview with the Musicians Union of Malawi (MUM) president REverend Chimwemwe Mhango to discuss these issues and others affecting the music industry and musicians in general.

Q

: We are seeing the relatives of late Grace Chinga fighting over the ownership of her music. Was late Chinga a member of Musicians union of Malawi? What role will you play to ensure that her music benefits those who deserve to benefit?

A

: Yes, the issue between Grace Chinga’s children and their uncle. Grace was a strong and active member of MUM. As a union, we would like to see that the wrangle is sorted out amicably and the family should come out clearly as to who are the principal beneficiaries of Grace’s works. Unfortunately, records are not indicating anyone as next of kin ,meaning that late Chinga did not leave a will or anything of that nature with the Copyright Society of Malawi or even privately.

It is, therefore, abit complicated because her mother still lives and the children are also active musicians who even took part in some of her production. Because Miracle is our member, we will stand with her and her brother but making sure that we follow all legal procedures for any stand that will be taken.

Q

:: The issue that seem, not to be solved is that of plagiarism and Copyright. For example, songs done by Matafale have been redone by San B and Nepman and some family members complained they were redone without following proper procedures. How will the union come in to protect its members and bring sanity on this matter once and for all?

A

: Issues of plagiarism are very straightforward. If one wants to do a cover or record someone’s works, he or she needs to get permission from the owner. For sure, Matafale filled the forms at Cosoma as to who would be in charge of his works in case he is no more. Failing which, there are rules and regulations that ought to be followed. So, our role really is to advise musicians to do the right thing, failing which they will also be pirating which is unfortunate. We already gave advice to Matafale family to lodge an official complaint to Cosoma and I hope they got assisted if not, then its not our fault. Now as a union, we want to introduce contractual agreement forms which would be helping us in such cases. The best thing is to sit down and talk and we, as a union, are always willing to mediate and advise accordingly.

Q

: Recently, we saw music awards called the Nyasa Music Awards which had some controversy in terms of categories and some winners. Observers faulted MUM for not getting involved earlier. What do you say on the matter?

A

: Those who faulted MUM or Nyasa Awards were ignorant of so many things. Yes, we were notified about the awards but when it came to giving out our advice, the organisers did not want to take it. I still keep the conversation that I had with Mr Lowole who actually said they did not see any problem, meaning our observations were not welcome. I have to admit that as a Union, we are still putting our house in order and by the end of this year, we will have created strategies and mechanisms on how to control certain anomalies denting the music industry. We are no longer an association but a union with all powers of bargaining for all rights of musicians. And, surely, we will not allow ourselves to continue being exploited in this manner. We, however, applaud Nyasa Awards organisers for their efforts and hope that next time they will not isolate themselves but involve us fully. We need to be partners in developing our industry.

Q

: Artists continue to struggle to find a proper market for their artworks. So far where are we in trying to address the matter?

A

: We are now hopeful that with the passing of the new copyright law, sanity will come in. Music business, which had flopped, will pick up. Currently, we are working with arts productions marketing cooperatives (APMC) now being coordinated by Cosoma. The manager, Isaac Chingota, is in talks with PTC shops, Game Claim Mabuku etc for possible music outlets. We want to establish decency and believe we are in the right direction.

Q

:Your last words?

A

: I would like to thank all my fellow musicians for the spirit of togetherness that we are experiencing now. For the first time, I see people speaking their minds and at times being very hard on me as a leader to do more in shaping the industry to be more vibrant. This is a good development but let me say that Rome was not built in a day. We are doing our part and we pray that other key players like the government should speed up other issues. For example, Parliament passed the new copyright Bill last year, the State President signed last year but up to now it has not been declared as a law yet.  This derails the development of our industry. The cultural policy was established almost two years ago and yet the issue of Arts council seems to be dying naturally. Music is powerful and can contribute positively to the economic growth of the nation but it appears that many do not see this. n