Kenyan Musicians Furious as they receive peanuts from Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK)
Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2022
Author: albert Wambura
Kenyan artistes have raised concerns over their meagre royalties
It has become a culture in Kenya where musicians and actors are paid peanuts year in year out, and people are angry about it.
In the latest news, KRG The Don and Wangechi have shared their displeasure with the amount they received as royalties from Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK).
In an Instagram post that we observed, KRG shared a screenshot of the amount he was sent. In it, he received 1215.95 KES from PRISK. He captioned the image; “Sasa tumeongezewa hadi billions………. Nani anataka loan coz zile pesa tulikua tunangoja zimefika!!! Our President, we are so proud of you!!”
Fans were quick to react with some continuing with his sarcastic tone. One joemuchiri1 commented, “Hii uki buy mutura it’s more than enough.”
Mulasaisi exclaimed that the amount could not buy his favorite drink. “Sasa hii hata haiwezi nunua data bana.” he pitied.
“Na vile wasanii wanaongezeka kenya si basi in the next 3 years utakuwa unatumiwa 2GB ya bundles uskize ngoma zako mwenyewe,” anko_poppa punctuated.
Some messages further highlighting the issue
On the other hand, Kenyan rap queen Wangechi broke the news to her twitter fans by posting a screenshot showing the same amount received by KRG. She wrote, “Annual reminder that being an artist in Kenya is still an extreme sport.”
Singer Habida shared that she has never received anything from PRISK for years. “At least you are getting paid. I haven't received a dime in years!” She responded to Wangechi’s tweet.
Still on the same note, fans felt PRISK took their jokes too far for offering Kenyan songbird Nikita Kering 1215.95 KES as royalty.
This is not the first time a Collective Management Organization (CMO) is getting attention from Kenyan artists and the general public. For three years, MCSK and PRISK have been known to pay not more than 3000 KES to Kenyan artists.
In this article that appeared on this platform, Feud as MCSK pays artists peanuts as royalties, in August 2029, Sere Neema talks of the plight of Kenyan artists who even after working so hard, “Artists claim they invest too much into their music to get peanuts. Some gave permission for their music to be pirated.”
There is no official statement from PRISK, but speculations on the streets say that the reason for such meagre payment is due to low rotation of Kenyan music on the airwaves.
Article by Brian Khavalaji
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