By Iminza Keboge
Published July 15, 2020
Kenya has ordered Disc Jockeys not to hold live shows online without a license.
Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO), that is in charge of copyright issues in Kenya, announced on May 27, 2020 that any DJ who livestreams without a license from either the owners of the works they broadcast or their respective collective management organisation (CMO) breaks the law of copyright.
“Anyone who violates the exclusive rights of the copyright owner is an infringer of that copyright. When a DJ creates a live stream and starts broadcasting music to the internet, he has become a radio station. He needs licences from copyright owners or Collective Management Organisations (CMOs),” KECOBO says in a tweet.
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But DJs–who had taken to livestreaming in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) that had led the government into restricting movement and gatherings of people in public spaces like churches, eateries, religious and political rallies, open-air market and all types of entertainment joints as a measure aimed at curbing the spread of the pandemic in the country and thus robbed DJs of a livelihood–have threatened to boycott Kenyan music.
KECOBO says unless DJs operate from a licensed entity such as a media station, club or retsaurant, require a license to host their shows online.
“In the case of public performance in the traditional sense (in an unlicensed venue, no streaming), a DJ would be required to pay for a license from the CMOs,” Edward Sigei, Executive Director of KECOBO, says. “The license applies to DJs who aren’t attached to a licensed business premises like clubs, or who
perform at venues that haven’t obtained the license from CMOs. The fee is payable per gig/event or annual license. The tariff fee for Deejays performance is Sh10 000 annually or Sh750 per event payable to the CMOs’ joint license.”
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Advising DJs ‘to acquaint themselves with the terms and conditions of service of the platforms that they intend to use’ for livestreaming their work, Sigei says DJs must pay ‘for music usage locally’.
The reason for this compliance, Sigei argues, “is that recorded music in any jurisdiction is subject to rights management information monitoring technology that enables owners to account for its usage on digital platforms. The technological measures may trigger a complaint or copyright strike that lead to
blockage of the stream. It is recommended that a DJ or any other digital user wishing to exploit recorded music on digital platforms must whitelist of their channels with right holders as per terms and conditions of the platforms.”
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Yes, operators of platforms like YouTube and Facebook require users to comply with copyright and intellectual property right laws and not to post anything they have no right to on their platforms.
So can DJs legally use copyrighted works, whether local or international, in livestreams without a license on the pretext of supporting and promoting those works? If DJs dropped Kenyan music from their play lists, which other music would they use online without their entire repertoire receiving copyright
strikes and being pulled down by zealous and ever alert representatives of western European, North American, South African and Nigerian music?
Is KECOBO right in demanding compliance from DJs on copyrighted workks? What benefits do DJs get back from KECOBO and CMOs like Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP), Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), Kenya’s threeCMOs, for their compliance?
Can DJs play foreign music without being sanctioned by local CMOs that, ideally, should have reciprocal working arrangements with their counterparts outside Kenya?
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