Cosoma royalty bag

T

his ending week was a blessing to a number of local musicians, especially those who have reaped from the over K212 million windfall from the Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma).

The society distributed royalties from the Blank Media Levy for the period between July and December 2020 to 15 musicians and six filmmakers during an event which took place at Sunbird Lilongwe.

The list of those who have benefitted has delivered its own surprises from different perspectives and offered many talking points as well in a year many artists toiled massively.

But as it stands, the biggest winner remains the self-styled artist Atoht Manje who carted home a whopping K2.1 million. Considering his relative popularity, the artist has pulled a shocker, at least in the eyes of many.

The general expectation was for some big name artist to be rewarded with the honour of getting the biggest share. But as per the tracking system deployed by Cosoma, the Huwa star was the most loved during the period in question.

One notable fact which the top 21 list reflected though is the growing influence and dominance of urban music. Unlike in the years gone by, urban music was not the people’s favourite locally. Every time Cosoma distributing royalties, you knew it was a party among the local music beat players.

But it appears not anymore. The top 15 had representation from R ‘n’ B sensation Kell Kay, dancehall artist Saint, Afro-pop artist Dan Lu, dancehall force Eli Njuchi and rappers Macelba, Gwamba, Martse and Janta.

This serves to underline the shift that is slowly taking shape within the local music spheres. The persistence of the urban music players has started paying off as consumers are slowly accepting their type and style of art. This is a milestone and the fellas deserve a big pat on the back.

However, one aspect that has surprised many is the absence of female artists among the top 15 recipients. The industry has some remarkable female names that have devoted their efforts to the art.

For some time now, names such as Sangie, Rittaa, Beanca, Ketturah and Tuno, have consistently been present on the music scene. One would think they have done enough to be on the music ladder.

But apparently, it is a bit worrying considering the efforts that they have invested in the trade. We should hope this won’t serve as a pullback factor in their pursuits to establish themselves as music forces in the industry.

Let them push on. They should be apprehensive of the work that lies ahead of them and the exact goals they want to achieve. It will not come on a silver platter. They will need to toil and sweat. Disappointments will always be there along the way.

Upon the release of the list of recipients there were discernible murmurs of discontent from the other sectors of the art divide. The silent tones seemed to suggest Cosoma is just there to serve the interests of musicians and not other sectors.

Well, this seems to be an argument that can rumble on the whole day. It requires an engagement that will allow Cosoma to hear out the other players and for the institution to explain the criteria they use in determining the deserving recipients.

In a situation where some are feeling shortchanged, it births massive mistrust. And Cosoma, for the role that they are supposed to serve, cannot risk to be guiding over a flock which doesn’t trust them at 100 percent. Let them do the needful to bridge this gap.