By Abdi Ali
Published February 7, 2018
Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) has been barred from conducting the business of Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) in Kenya.
Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), that regulates CMOs, cites a 2017 high Court ruling that barred MCSK from collecting royalties as the basis of omitting it from the list of licensed CMOs.
RELATED:‘Copyright’ Mania Throwing the Arts in a Crisis
Consequently, KECOBO advises business owners to deal only with licensed CMOs, which it lists as:
- Music Publishers Association of Kenya (MPAKE) that represents authors, composers, and publishers of musical works
- Performing Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK) that represents performers in music and dramatic works
- Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP) that represents producers of sound recordings, and
- Reprographic Rights Society of Kenya (KOPIKEN) that represents authors and publishers of literary works.
RELATED:This is What Kenya’s National Music Policy Says
The post Music Society Barred from Collecting Royalties appeared first on ArtMatters.Info.
Welsh harpist Catrin Finch and Senegalese kora player Seckou Keita are set to release a music album worldwide on April 27, 2018.
Soar, an eight-track album running 44 minutes and 54 seconds, takes flight on the wings of the osprey, the magnificent bird of prey recently returned to Wales after centuries of absence, which makes its annual 3 000-mile migration from the coasts of West Africa to the estuaries of Wales, soaring like music and dreams over man-made borders, in an innate and epic journey of endurance.
A 
South African a cappella, also known as isicathamiya (pronounced as ‘izzee-cat-a-meeya’) and meaning to ‘tread carefully’ or ‘walk softly’, is said to have “started as a predominantly male vocal tradition.”
A new streaming service aimed at increasing revenue for musicians has been introduced in Kenya.
Safaricom’s ring-back tone service, Skiza, is already making a huge impact on the music business in Kenya. It is reported to have paid out more than Sh1.4 billion to artists in 2017.
Meanwhile, Clarach, a 
A Kenyan singer is set to release a music video that is likely to be the talk of town.
The music video for Oyoyo shall be released at 9pm on Akothee Kenya’s YouTube page.
“I can tell you for sure the budget came up to Sh5 Million,” Nelly Oaks, the star’s manager revealed.”The video is a collaborative effort between Akothee and top brands like Silverstone Airline Limited, Moet & Chandon and Acacia Premiere Hotel in Kisumu.”
The track, Oyoyo, is produced by Spell “MagikBoi” while the music video was shot by One Montage Production.
A new urban music single has been unveiled in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The vocal performance of both artists is superlative and unlocks a new fresh level of mash up sound, making where two extremely talented people combine to create an unforgettable audio product.
A popular music group from Kenya is set to perform at Malawi’s Lake of Stars Festival as the African headliner in September 2018.
Joining Sauti Sol on the bill as one of the Malawian headline acts is rapper Fredokiss, making his first ever appearance at the festival. The self-styled Ghetto King Kong, who recently bagged Best Hip Hop artist at the Nyasa Music Awards to add to his list of accolades, has been making waves in Malawi after hosting a series of hugely popular free shows across the country.
Two rappers operating out of 
All right. Stop being difficult. The music is Dansolo. The duo rap:
Mvua ikinyesha ni muziki tu
Both artists, who are exhibiting printed work, are said to be drawing inspiration from storytelling and mythology.
Lake of Stars Festival
Among the local talents on offer are rapper Fredokiss, who recently added a Best Hip Hop artist award to his list of accolades; afro-soul star Faith Mussa, who was part of Lake of Stars successful UK shows earlier in the year and Madalitso Band who have been showcasing their traditional Malawian sounds at festivals across Europe this summer, alongside a host of other artists from the worlds of music, poetry, theatre and dance.
A Kenyan singer, rapper, producer and writer has released an eclectic 
‘Shaping the trends rather than being shaped by them according to popular mass culture,’ MC Sharon goes in, out, over and under; utilising her singing, rapping and production skills to bring out a raw finesse that is only true to her brand of life.
MC Sharon has not only executive-produced, co-engineered and co-directed the project but she has also collaborated with various global producers and engineers to ensure her vision came to fruition.
A Grammy award-winning group is set to headline what is being described as the biggest end year party in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi.
The festival, dubbed the biggest end year party in 254, Clientele Public Relations statement says, will see Morgan Heritage also share the stage with local entertainers like Naiboi, Band Beca, Nadia Mukami, WCB crew-Harmonize, Rayvanny, Queen Darlene, Mbosso, and Lavalava.
In a bizarre turn of events that challenges the definition of 
De Wolfe Music, the company 2nacheki says claims to hold copyright to the musical arrangement of Kenya’s national anthem, is British and not African.
Could Meza Maroa Galana, the local folk musician whose Pokomo lullaby tune was adapted by the KAC, have been British? Could the British have paid for the work of the KAC, especially the music arrangement De Wolfe claims to own?
As if jolted from slumber by 2nacheki’s discovery of De Wolfe Music’s claim on Kenya’s national song in a video 2nacheki had uploaded on YouTube, the country, through Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), says De Wolfe cannot own Kenya’s national anthem.
2. The National Anthem in Kiswahili and English is a prayer to God and a clarion call to all Kenyans to rise up and develop their country for the good of all people within the borders of Kenya.
3. The Coat of Arms is a visual representation of the national flag and national anthem. It stands for national identity.
He has “died as an elder, rooted in the place from whence his music came, distant and disconnected from the noise of the city, finally home. In his journey to get back to his roots and focus on what he was looking for, he turned away from many of the distractions and tools of the modern music industry. Unencumbered with this gear, he was surer of himself than ever and closer to the instrument he loved. The music he left with us remains mystical, other-worldly, timeless and deeply traditional.”
Ogada was neither a sycophant nor a praise singer, a principle that may have prompted local media practitioners and politicians to punish him for being unconventional.![Tabu Osusa, Founder and Executive Director of Ketebul Music of Nairobi, says Ogada's "music will continue to reverberate throughout the world" even though "the state and the local media may have failed to recognize [his] accomplishments."](http://artmatters.info/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Tabu-Osusa-300x249.jpg)
Besides performing in Kenya and touring various European cities, the African Heritage Band released two albums titled Niko Saikini and Handas.
Ogada had recorded and released three albums–En Mana Kuoyo (1993), Tanguru (1998) and Kodhi (2015)–at the time of his death. His song, Koth Biro (The rain is coming), had been used as soundtrack in movies like I Dreamed of Africa (2000), The Constant Gardener (2005), Samsara (2011), The Good Lie (2014)–and been nominated by the Oscars for Best Original Score besides being featured in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2016. He himself had had roles on screen in Out of Africa (1985) and Kitchen Toto (1987).
Tabu Osusa, Founder and Executive Director of Ketebul Music of Nairobi, says Ogada’s “music will continue to reverberate throughout the world” even though “the state and the local media may have failed to recognize [his] accomplishments.”
She is said to have started responding to music as a baby who, by the age of three years, started picking up the microphone during functions to just sing. Now, 17 years later, she is pursuing a Business in Technology course with specialisation in Music Performance, Business, Marketing and Production. The girl whose motto is ‘Work Hard, Pray Harder’ may have picked up a couple of awards already, but she says she has her eyes trained not only on studying at some of the best music schools in United States of America from 2020 but also on winning a couple of Grammy Awards as she moves up to join the stars and become one of them. Could 
How about the Café Ngoma whose Artist of The Year award you also won in 2018?
Which other schools did you attend before going to Brookhouse?
Do you feel studying the arts can make one a better artist or is itan in-born talent?
Do local TV/Radio have the obligation to promote local music?
A recording artist of hip hop, dancehall and bomba music has released a
Dancehall Party is part of Teferah and Upper Dem Ute’s East African musical alliance platform formed by Mpact on a project that holds Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda with Hip hop artist Noss alongside Teferah and Upper Dem Ute forming a unit called NTU which is set to release collaborative songs as a way of fostering the spirit of unity and collaboration among East African countries.
Following the successful release of a song and a video calling upon Kenyans to not only play more local music on the air waves but to also consume it more, a western Kenya-based musician is back with a new audio track and 
Seeing the two artists define and combine their level of creativity, skills and ability on a track is one thing many of us would have wanted to happen sooner, considering Videz produced the hit single Nitembezee (push it for me or support me in Kiswahili) by Gabiro that was released almost three months ago. The track, a Kenyan sound fused with Caribbean sound to give it the much hyped up feeling and vibe expected in a club banger, Nitembezee went on to elevate Gabiro Mtu Necessary to a new level of artist.
A new song that has just been released calls upon the media and music lovers to not only give more air play but to also listen more to 
For him to find success and satisfaction, Gabiro Mtu Necessary who is based in the western Kenyan city of Kisumu sings:
Though the relationship between 
Is it possible to separate the grain from the chaff for the #PlayKenyanMusic to generate dividends for everyone and not just the feuding musicians and deejays? Could it be true that foreign music dominates airwaves in Kenya? How has this come to be? How can the situation be remedied?
Saying that “nearly all stakeholders in the music industry agree that the only way to promote the arts as a nation is to invest in our own”, Ndolo argues that “this puts forward the question of whether our artistes deliver music good enough to be considered for airplay.”
Recording artist 
The