Kenyan artists started receiving their royalties’ payment for the year 2023 Thursday.
Speaking at a Nairobi hotel when she presided over the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) royalties’ distribution, First Lady Rachel Ruto affirmed the government’s commitment to ensuring musicians benefit from their craft.
The first lady who presented cheques to the top earners from all the challenged the musicians to release good music that is appealing in content.
The musicians were awarded in five categories that include; legends, upcoming artists, artists with disabilities, top Gospel artists nationally as well as top secular artists nationally.
On his part, MCSK Chief Executive Ezekiel Mutua said the new structures for paying royalties is bearing fruit as they had set aside at least 20 million shillings to be shared amongst 16,000 members.
Mutua said they have used a software to determine the number of times a song is aired to ensure fair royalty payments.
He called for compliance from music consumers in the country to ensure musicians are well remunerated for their creative works.