COSOMA faces backlash over Miracle Chinga omission

The Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) is facing a backlash after gospel musician Miracle Chinga was left out of its list of the top 10 beneficiaries of Blank Media Levy royalties.

Artists and fans have taken to social media to question the selection, arguing that the Thamanga hitmaker has consistently enjoyed remarkable success over the past few years and deserved a place among the top earners.

One of the artists who has publicly voiced concern is musician Hilco. In a Facebook post, she questioned the criteria COSOMA uses to determine the top beneficiaries and expressed disappointment that no female artist appeared on the list.

“Let’s talk about Miracle Vic Chinga. The girl has worked so hard over the past years and has managed to maintain her position. To me, I would say, among both secular and gospel female artists, she has represented us very well.

I don’t know what the criteria are, but I feel she deserved to be in the top 10. As women, we would have been happy to see one of our own represented. But anyway, it’s God’s time,” wrote Hilco.

Hilco’s comments have echoed the views of many fans, who argue that Miracle Chinga’s commercial success and popularity in recent years warranted recognition among the top beneficiaries.

COSOMA has not yet publicly responded to the criticism or explained the criteria used to compile the top 10 beneficiaries list.

On Monday, COSOMA distributed K1.8 billion in Blank Media Levy royalties, up from K1 billion last year, for artistic works used between April 2025 and March 2026.

The top music beneficiaries included Phyzix, Onesimus, Lucius Banda, Zeze Kingston, Driemo, Kelly Kay and Saint. However, no gospel artist featured among the leading earners.

The omission has triggered calls for greater transparency, with artists and fans questioning how COSOMA calculates and distributes Blank Media Levy royalties. The levy is collected on devices and storage media capable of storing or playing copyrighted content, including flash drives, computers, smartphones, memory cards and other digital storage devices.

Many have argued that Miracle Chinga’s sustained popularity and commercial success in recent years should have earned her a place among the top beneficiaries. COSOMA only distributes Blank Media Levy royalties to artists registered with the society, although it has not publicly stated whether registration status played any role in Chinga’s omission and other popular gospel musicians.