‘Copyright Policy to fight piracy’
Government has said it is pushing the Copyright Policy to Parliament as one of the steps towards curbing piracy.
Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Culture Moses Kunkuyu said this on Saturday night during the finals of the Sunbird Search for a Star music competition at Capital Hotel in Lilongwe.
The minister said government has learnt with great shock the damages piracy is causing to artists and they are currently looking at steps to be taken to reduce the extent of piracy before uprooting the practice for good.
“We are committed to fighting piracy and currently we are trying to work with speed to push the Copyright Policy to Parliament because we know once it is passed, it will protect the artists and their products,” said Kunkuyu.
He also reminded the nation that music is a business and artists need to own and control their work. He said what piracy has achieved is only making musicians poorer.
“We have successful musicians and it pains to see them turning into music vending because they do not feel their work is protected. We ask all players to join us and support the fight against piracy. The public should also recognise music as a business,” said Kunkuyu.
Secular musician Skeffa Chimoto said the fight against piracy can be won if everyone puts a hand to support any step against piracy. He also asked the public to always buy original music from recognisable music selling points, saying piracy is growing because there is a market for the pirated material.
