COSOMA in war with royalty critics

The Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) has found itself in a war of words with artists and music fans after responding defiantly to criticism over its royalty distribution process instead of directly addressing concerns about how the country’s top royalty earners are identified.

The exchange follows growing public scrutiny over COSOMA’s latest top 10 royalty earners list, with many demanding greater transparency on the criteria used to determine the beneficiaries.

On Thursday, the society took to its Facebook page with a series of posts that many interpreted as mocking those questioning its processes.

In one post, COSOMA wrote: “COSOMA si YouTube! COSOMA si Spotify!”, appearing to dismiss comparisons between its royalty system and online streaming platforms.

It followed with another post saying: “Ayi koma amene uja akutrender, koma anthu amamudziwa. COSOMA si zimenezo! COSOMA ndipa ground!”, suggesting that social media popularity or online trends are not the basis for royalty payments.

Rather than calming the debate, the posts attracted more criticism, with many accusing the society of avoiding the issues being raised.

One of the commenters, Thom Banda, urged COSOMA to explain what it means by “pa ground” and make its royalty distribution process more transparent.

“Not to argue with that, but someday you need to define that ‘pa ground’. And methods you use to come up and share royalties. Transparency will solve some of these issues,” he wrote.

Renowned media personality and social media commentator Charles Kabena also criticised the society, saying public institutions should respond to questions with facts instead of ridicule.

“It is worrying to see many public offices in Malawi avoid accountability by dismissing questions and mocking those who ask them. Turning serious issues into popularity contests rather than explaining decisions and metrics undermines trust and damages the institution’s credibility,” Kabena wrote on his Facebook page.

He described COSOMA’s response as “immature and counterproductive”, saying artists who raise concerns deserve respectful answers.

Kabena further questioned COSOMA’s long-standing claim that it uses music listenership data to calculate royalties, arguing that the methodology has never been made public.

“Since I knew COSOMA and the claim they have that they calculate music listenership for royalties, they have never published that to the public or the artists themselves. Instead of the veiled attacks at artists, respond to those questions,” he wrote.