Nominated Senator Crystal Asige wants a probe launched into the alleged failure of various associations to protect the interests of local musicians, songwriters and producers.
They include the Music Copyright Society of Kenya, the Performance Rights Society of Kenya, the Kenya Association of Music Producers and the Kenya Copyright Board of Kenya.
Asige through the Senate standing committee on Labour and Social Welfare wants their operations investigated including the management of music royalties, collection and distribution to the membership.
“In the statement, the committee should provide a detailed breakdown of the royalties collected on behalf of musicians in the last five physical years including information on the sources of revenue and the specific amounts collected,” Asige said.
In the statement, Asige also wants the committee to confirm whether the organisations distributed at least 70 per cent of the collected royalties to the members as mandated by their governing rules.
The committee will also be expected to table before the House comprehensive statements of account for the last five years that demonstrate the royalties were indeed distributed.
“The committee to appraise the Senate on existing mechanisms that allow for independent auditing of the financial records of MCSK, PRISK and KAMP to ensure transparency and accurate distribution of royalties,” she said.
The senator also wants the committee to state measures if any that Kecobo has put in place to ensure that MCSK, PRISK and KAMP are operating with valid licences and confirm the status of the licences if any.
She said there have been concerns from songwriters musicians, producers and other creative artists that their interest is not being properly served despite being paid-up members of the associations.
Last month, music band Sauti Sol threatened to withdraw their membership from the MCSK.
The band through their social media pages decried poor pay of their royalties.
"We are going to withdraw our membership from the society as it does not serve our best interests entirely," the band said.
Sauti Sol urged other musicians who may feel dissatisfied with the services to join them in exiting MCSK.
