Musicians Union of Malawi (MUM) has pleaded with the Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma ) and Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) to find a way forward on their misunderstanding on royalties.

The two sides last week announced that after over five meetings, they failed to reach a compromise on royalty payment calculations, prompting MBC to terminate an agreement the two sides had for the past 30 years.

In a statement, MUM president Vita Chirwa said as musicians, they are concerned because this means their earnings will be affected if the issue is not resolved.

“As musicians, we plead with MBC to rescind its decision as the current situation will affect musicians’ welfare,” he said.

Chirwa said the State broadcaster, which generates more royalties than any other broadcaster in Malawi, offers a lifeline for many musicians in the country.

He said MUM has approached the two sides separately over the matter.

Last week MBC director general George Kasakula told The Nation that they had decided to walk away from their prior contract because the contract was not fair.

“The contract requires that we hand over our financial records to Cosoma so that they can levy us on the creative content that we use. Nobody apart from MBC is asked to do that. If Cosoma can show us legal backing for that, then we are ready to comply, otherwise they should forget about the previous arrangement,” he said. 

On his part, Cosoma licensing manager Mutty Munkhondia said MBC management arrived at the decision because it feels the current contract is expensive.

“The contract which has been terminated has been there for the last 30 years. It is about the payment of royalties as per the copyright Broadcasting Regulations, which is the percentage usage of copyright works,” he said.

According to both parties, MBC pays Cosoma an average of K45 to K50 million per year in royalties.

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