Rampant music and video piracy has been decried for many years in countries across Africa. The formal business sector is weak, the informal shadow economy blossoming, and artists lack the backup of strong associations and institutions to defend their interests and legal rights. All these factors add to the sad fact that African artists are virtually excluded from participating in a fair manner in the proceeds of their works. 

While the fight against the sale of illegally copied music CDs and movie DVDs has been going on for many years especially on the inner-African markets and in the African Diaspora, a new dimension was added more recently.

Not long ago, Kasongo wa Kandema, lead singer of the Orchestra Super Mazembe Band, a band who was very popular in East Africa throughout the 1970ies, received a phone call from a US-based Kenyan singer. She wanted to congratulate on the inclusion of Super Mazembe's music in the movie "Phat galz" and was surprised to learn that Kasongo had never heard of it. Super Mazembe are now trying to secure the payment of royalties and other damages, but the outcome still remains to be seen.

The second case where a Kenyan song was used in a movie soundtrack without permission concerns the award-winning movie "The Last King of Scotland", a portrayal of Idi Amin. Here, too, an old seventies hit was pirated: Kingo Fever by the late Ismael Jingo.

Things are further complicated by the fact that many Kenyan artists have sold their entire rights at a flat rate, in which case they have no further claims to their recordings.

Another famous case from East Africa concerns the royalties for Malaika, a song written by Fadhili Williams. The song is so well known throughout East Africa that many people consider it to be a folk song. Williams won the battle for his royalties in the 1990ies after he had travelled to the United States and worked their as a petrol pump attendant while pursuing his case. 

Source: The East African Magazine, March 24-30, 2008