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Mbulelo Mpofu, Showbiz Reporter

Watchdog Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) conducted a stakeholders awareness workshop at the Zimbabwe Academy of Music in Bulawayo yesterday.

Held under the theme “Committed to protecting the art of music” Zimura used the platform to celebrate its 40th birthday.

In his introductory statement, Zimura deputy director Henry Makombe said it was befitting for the organisation to host the workshop in the city as Bulawayo is the creative heartbeat of the country.

“Bulawayo is the creative hub of Zimbabwe and its commitment is commendable. We’re proud of Bulawayo as an organisation.

We’re happy to see how the Bulawayo music industry is growing,” said Makombe.

He further taught music composers how copyright laws work.

“Artistes create for commercial purposes, hence it’s important for composers to understand how copyright laws work.

This means that consumers of content have the obligation to pay for the exploitation of the artistic works in order to promote perpetual creativity.

Such a scenario is what led to the creation of Collective Management Organisations the world over.

These exist to facilitate the process of bringing creative works to the public.

“We urge composers of music to register with us so that we manage the rights for them and this, in turn, ensures that their copyrights are not exploited without fair remuneration.

At the end of the day, we pay royalties for composers and also advocate for better laws in the Copyrights and Neighbouring Rights Act so as to better livelihoods.

“We manage public performance, cable diffusion, webcasting, synchronisation, reproduction of sale and streaming rights for composers of music,” added Makombe.

A procession of discussions followed and these were led by various stakeholders who outlined their roles within the music industry.

One of the hot topics discussed during the workshop was that of collection and distribution of royalties, especially in an inflationary environment.

Zimura’s head of documentation and distribution, Roseline Chirume, spoke on membership registration, documentation and distribution of works.

“We have scrapped payment of registration fees as a promotion to our 40th birthday so registration is free.

We just need a copy of your ID, passport size photos and copies of your work in Mp3 format and then submit fully-completed forms.

“After that, you will be invited for a formal orientation to know how Zimura works,” said Chirume.

Other topics discussed were around the legalities in the music business as well as how one registers for their intellectual property to protect them from unfair use of composers’ rights.

Stakeholders from Zimura, Zimbabwe Republic Police, National Prosecuting Authority, National Arts Council of Zimbabwe, Bulawayo City Council, Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and Skyz Metro FM were in attendance.

Creatives who included gospel singers Pastor Barak and Vuyo Brown and Hwabaraty and police spokesperson for Bulawayo, Inspector Abedinico Nyathi and some composers were also part of the workshop.

– @eMKlass_49