The highest earned royalty pay-out for 2021 to a local songwriter stands at N$8 000 while the lowest royalty pay-out to a local songwriter for the same year was a mere 0.78 cents according to the latest information from the Nascam.
This money should still be shared amongst the shareholders who worked on the respective song which includes, authors, composers, arrangers and publishers of music.
These royalties were paid out on 1 December 2021 and are generated from music used in 2020 on all NBC different languages services and collected from broadcasters through an agreement or copyright music licence with any music users.
At the same time, an amount of N$45 489 was allocated to non-musical work used on radios but that was not registered with Nascam.
The list shared with unWrap.Online magazine shows that Nascam collected only N$1 million royalties for both foreign and local songwriters of which just N$543 953 were for local songwriters and the difference of N$477 471 is to be paid out to foreign songwriters.
According to Nascam CEO Eino-John Max, the high payouts to foreign artists by NBC is a major concern.
From the monies paid out by the NBC Nascam collected N$ 146 827 followed by BMI with N$118 259 and followed by SAMRO the South African royalty distributor with N$ 94 097, followed by PRS of the United Kingdom at N$ 56 035 and 5th highest receiver is STIM of Sweden with N$13 433 followed by GEMA of Germany with N$11’967.
“This means that NBC is playing more or 49% of foreign music and this is a heavy blow to our local artists. Nascam is calling for strict implementation measures and urges NBC to level up the use of local music in all its different radio services. We noted with appreciation what NBC is doing, however, we want NBC to play 90% local music, please if you don’t have enough local music, repeat playing that music until the public or the musicians themselves complain. We are sure our artists have produced many songs that are still not even used on our national radio.,” said Max.
According to Max, the 2020 and 2021 years were the toughest and challenging years and undermined Collective Management Organisations all over the world seriously.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has disturbed entertainment business including Broadcasters and that use music to promote their services and products. This challenge has affected artists not to enable to receive decent Royalties for the use of their music from different music users.
Nascam is guided by the Namibian Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act, as well as other international intellectual property management guidelines, on how to manage copyright works in the music.
Max added that they are committed to these guidelines and International Reciprocal Representative Agreement signed between NASCAM and its sister’ collective management organisation around the world.
“The main reason of signing these agreements is to protect the interests and rights of all songwriters, their shareholders or beneficial throughout the world, and in detail, it means we do not discriminate artists, Nascam is collecting royalties for both local and international and foreigners’ songwriters,” he said.
Nascam is also looking at engaging the CRAN to see how they can strengthen measures to hold accountable broadcasters that are bypassing the requirements and rules on handling music.
