Story by Patience Nyagato
LACK of professionalism in the music industry has come under the spotlight following a number of disputes between musicians, producers and promoters over royalties.
It has become a regular occurrence in the music industry that artists and music promoters or producers clash after the production and distribution of music.
The latest case being that of rising star Delroy Shewe which made rounds on social media after disclosing on a local podcast that he had not received royalties for his hit song “Superstar” which has close to five million views on YouTube.
Experts in the industry believe professionalising music will help avoid such cases which have seen some artists crying foul.
“When you are going to distribute the music there’s always going to be some problems. So the professional thing to do and the required thing to do is to have a contract. The contract stipulates how much percentage is given to party A and how much percentage is given to party B and that should be done before the music is released, as soon as the music is recorded. Because once you start to talk about such issues when the song becomes a hit you’ll have a problem.
“So it’s the same thing even when you write a song together. You are supposed to sign what is known as a split sheet where you split the percentages. That’s why it’s called a split sheet. So the contract should stipulate how much percentage is going to party A, how much percentage is going to party B so that you agree before the music is released. Once you start talking about I’ve never faced such experiences because every time I write music for anybody, every time I post music for distribution on online platforms, I make sure that we write things down. But I’ve seen the problems a lot with my other counterparts in the music industry,” said artist/ music producer, Mono Mukundu.
Music and arts expert Plot Mhako echoed the same sentiments.
“When it comes to music production, it is very important for producers, for composers, for artists, for instrumentalists, for record label owners, and everyone who’s involved in the creation of a song to know that there is something that defines their relationship and it comes in the form of a split sheet. This is an agreement that is entered into by anyone who is going to participate in the creation of a song.
“And this split sheet defines who has contributed what, and it also then defines who earns what at the end of the day. Because music you earn through royalties in different forms, you know, from live performances, from royalties that are collected from broadcasters, from public plays, as well as royalties that are collected online through digital streaming platforms. So this split sheet is what defines what helps artists to avoid any situation of conflict or any situation of prejudice or manipulation in any way or the other,” he explained.
Experts also believe artists should adopt the business model of using contracts in any agreement to ensure it’s clear and binding.
