By: Joseph Mwangi

Nairobi Musicians have given the Music Copyright Society of Kenya seven days to call an annual general meeting to elect new directors as the current office holders are in office illegally after expiry of their r term in October 2011. They are also demanding that their royalties for this year which MCSK has continued to withhold illegally be paid immediately.

They are now blaming MCSK boss Maurice Okoth of mismanaging their hard-earned money claiming he has refused to present MSCK audited accounts for now ten years despite orders from Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK). They allege Okoth has been working illegally with Mitoko & Company Certified Public Accountants to loot their money yet the company had been stopped from transacting any business with MCSK.

A letter dated 29th November 2010 signed by ICPAK Discipline & regulations officer John Wambugu to the Managing partner Mitoko & Company Certified Public Accountants reads “Kindly let us have your urgent response to the allegations set out in the said letter including your working papers fro the audits conducted in the last ten years to reach us on or before December 14th 2010. In the meantime, you are kindly requested to desist from any further dealings with the MCSK until the matter is resolved”. But shockingly, they never forwarded the 10-years audit report as demanded by ISPAK and have continued to work with MCSK illegally.

In a letter dated 14th November 2011 to MCSK, the musicians are now demanding that an AGM be called immediately where Mitoko & Company Certified Public Accountants will be expected to present audit reports for ten years, hold countrywide elections, form parallel committee to oversee and observe MCSK activities and to form a committee to oversee the proposed amendment of memorandum and articles of MCSK.

Investigations now reveal that MCSK is a scam and it’s officials are abusing the power granted to it by the constitution more so on issues relating to management of finace since no one closely monitors the activities of MCSK. In the ten-year audit report, musicians are expecting to be told how much MCSK collects monthly, annually and how much does it spends on the running of its offices and how much does it forward to musicians.

The following questions are expected to raise temperatures during the forthcoming AGM.

1. What other functions MCSK represents apart from collecting and distributing royalties?

2. Is MCSK right to strike deals on behalf of its members? If yes, what method does this body uses to monitor music sales transacted over the internet? Is the method transparent? And if it is, those represented, are they being served with records showing the transactions?

3. Is it right for MCSK to label a member’s work Published by MCSK when it knows very well that the term publisher means the owner, composer or the original creator of such work?

4. If a member wants to pull out of this organization what is the time period for processing pullout requests and what is the procedure?

5. Does MCSK update its members contact information?
a) If no, why?
b) And if yes, how long does it take to update a member’s contact?
c) And how many contact updates request have they undertaken in the past 2 years?
d) Can MCSK produce updated members contact list?

6. Does MCSK as a society frustrates members who do not agree with its way of running things? And if they do, how much power granted to this society by the constitution to oversee the downfall of its disgruntled members?

7. Does MCSK officials charged with overseeing the welfare of Musicians in this country cahoots with corrupt music studio owners and music shop owners to deprive musicians their intellectual property right by manipulating the ownership of works submitted to it by its members?

8. Do all registered members of this society receive their yearly royalties and if not why? If yes, can MCSK as a transparent non profit making organization provide all the payment records since its formation?

9. Can MCSK account for unpaid royalties?

10. What method does MCSK uses to reach each and every one of its members? Is the method convenient to an extent that all its members get notification in time? If no, why?

11. Does this number (020 4440970) belong to MCSK? If it is why doesn’t anyone pick it when dialed?

12. Why MUSIC COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF KENYA instead of COMPOSERS AND PUBLISHERS SOCIETY OF KENYA while there is KENYA COPYRIGHT BOARD?
Good examples are MCSK affiliates ASCAP or (American Society of Composers and Publishers) and BMI or (Broadcast Music Inc.) isn’t MCSK for MUSIC COPYRIGHT SOCIETY OF KENYA and KCB for KENYA COPYRIGHT BOARD confusing?

13. Should there be two copyright bodies in one country or is one body enough like the Library of congress in the United States or is this an African way of running things?

14. Why is MCSK website full of images showing sponsors instead of Musicians on whose feet it stands? Is this a mockery or is MCSK a begging bowl? Or isn’t this a ploy by MCSK officials to fool the government and the public that it still depends on sponsors?

15. Why are certain links on MCSK website like distribution dates, Events calendar, money matters, and economic effects in the society points back to home page where there are no contents suggested by the links?

16. Who manages MCSK website and how often is this site updated?

17. Is MCSK a political party where majority rules?

MCSK was founded on the background of fighting for the (weak) since musicians could not collect their royalties from those exploiting their music and it is on this background that MCSK need to reach to each and every one of its members just as it strives to collect royalties from every music user in this country and its affiliates not just a few and not even 99.9999% but 100.0%.

18. Does MCSK live up to this objective and mission?

19. How does MCSK help all of its members raise capital for production of their music like other music societies the world over?

20. Is MCSK stealthily fighting those it is suppose to protect?

While almost 95% of its members cannot afford to buy newspaper on daily basis, about the same percentage of all MSCK members has or have access to at least a basic mobile phone.

21. Why is MCSK insist on using daily newspapers to announce things like AGM, royalty payment in the wake of information technology advancement age where sending SMS and or Email is as less as a single click for blast Email or SMS.

22. Who handles MCSK member’s complaints?

23. Why Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) pushed Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to introduce a sticker that will drive the cost of producing original DVDs and CDs by 50% KRA rejects MCSK proposal. The fact these stickers are not directly purchased from Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) KRA played the MCSK way is also a question of another corruption avenue.

If MCSK cannot answer these compelling issues that threaten the welfare of its members, then it has outlived it use.

Summary
Bodies like MCSK, KFF, KPL etc needs a close check by the government, the public, affiliates and its members. These bodies can be great tools to eliminate poverty if not abused, but can be killing weapons (talent wise and life wise) if managed poorly, unprofessionally and unethically.