COSOMA royalties row continues

Criticism of Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) is deepening, with a music executive accusing the body of mishandling royalties, a dispute he says is threatening to erode artists’ trust in the system.

The latest criticism comes from Madness Entertainment manager Kelvin Ngumuya, popularly known as Jaa Kev, who says this year’s Blank Levy royalty distribution has left many artists more frustrated than before.

In a Facebook post, Ngumuya said he has never been satisfied with the way COSOMA distributes royalties, arguing that this year’s Blank Levy payments have only deepened the frustration already felt by many artists over transparency and fairness.

“To be precise, I have never been satisfied with their work, but this time around, it is worse,” reads part of his post.

Ngumuya argued that an organization that exists entirely because of artists’ work should welcome questions instead of reacting with annoyance.

He said young Malawians who choose to invest their lives in the entertainment industry make huge sacrifices that are often not seen by the public and deserve transparency from the institution mandated to protect their rights.

The Madness Entertainment Manager said his company has put in a lot of work and is demanding full explanations for what he termed “peanuts” paid to artists in the latest distribution.

He also raised concern that some songs that previously generated royalties are now missing from COSOMA’s distribution sheets.

Ngumuya further criticized COSOMA for giving inconsistent and unclear responses whenever artists seek clarity.