OVER eighty thousand musicians and content creators reaped 396,947,743/- through their endless efforts in 61,490 musical-related events in Dar es Salaam on Saturday.
Artists, content creators, and stakeholders came together to celebrate the royalties distribution at an event hosted by the Copyright Office of Tanzania (COSOTA).
Among the artists who bagged a huge sum included Naseeb Abdul alias Diamond Platnumz who earned 7,780,822/-, followed by Ally Kiba (Ali Kiba) who grabbed 5,090,416/-, Raymond Shabani (Rayvanny) who took home 4,939,046/-, Mbwana Kilungi (Mboso) who got 4,279,361/- and Rajab Kahali (Harmonize) who claimed 3,466,916/-.
On the women’s side, Zuhura Othuman (Zuchu) seized 4,723,306/-, and Faustina Mfinanga (Nandy) pocketed 3,544,154/-.
In the gospel category, Goodluck Gozibert pocketed 2,104,484/- and Christina Shusho grabbed 1,626,342/-.
Others include Rashid Shaban (Young Lunya) who got 1,698,345/- and Yusuph Mwinyi (Mzee Yusufu).
The Minister for Culture, Arts and Sports, Pindi Chana, hailed COSOTA for creating a memorable evening for artists and content creators. During the event, she cautioned those who illegally use artists’ and content creators’ work.
In her speech, she stressed the importance of complying with copyright laws and paying artists their dues. Additionally, she urged COSOTA and other stakeholders to increase their support for artists and content creators.
At the same event, Chief Executive Officer of COSOTA, Doreen Sinare handed over a licence to the first Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) that will be responsible for the collection and distribution of royalties to music artists Tanzania Music Rights Society (TAMRISO).
The TAMRISO founder includes musicians, advocates, and producers. Their president is Hermes Joachim, who thanked the government through COSOTA for trusting them with the licence. He promised to work closely with the artists to meet the goal as per the regulations that guide them.
The African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO) representative, Amadu Bah, lauded the government of Tanzania for not only amending the laws and regulations guiding copyright and intellectual property but also fulfilling artists’ needs through COSOTA.
He insisted Tanzania is an example among ARIPO’s 30 member states.
To ensure success is witnessed by arts stakeholders, the Copyright Office of Tanzania (COSOTA) and Zanzibar (COSOZA), the Business Registration and Licensing Agency (BRELA), and the Zanzibar Business and Property Registration Agency (BPRA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for the establishment of the centre for creative ownership training.
It was indeed a colourful evening filled with live performances from several artists. Among these artists were Barnaba Classic, Ambwene Mwasongwe and Ruby.
