Safaricom faces legal action by five leading Kenyan music producers including Jacky B, Bizzy B, Teddy B, Ihaji and Totti because their music continues to play on the Skiza platform without financial compensation.
Bond Advocates LLP represents these producers in their lawsuit against Safaricom because the producers made a large number of their songs available on Skiza since its inception but never received royalty payments.
The legal complaint lists 154 songs which include “Kitanzi” by Willy Paul alongside “Sitolia” by Willy Paul and “Ugali Sosa” by Man Ingwe as well as “Mtaachana Tu” by Bahati and “Rejea” by Guardian Angel and “Asusu” by DK Kwenye Hit and several other popular tracks. Skiza enabled users to pick these songs as their phone call sound for selection.
Jacky B the plaintiff declared that this legal action extends beyond the five music producers to ensure proper compensation for all musical artists. He declared that musicians have contributed to the expansion of the Kenyan music industry throughout many years yet their rights have been disregarded. We demand justice so that every producer and composer will receive compensation for their work that has been misused.
The described case represents one among many similar instances. Businessman Simon ‘Bamboo’ Kimani who used to be a hip-hop artist pursued a legal complaint against Safaricom and the associated premium rate service providers Bensoft Interactive Ltd and Mtech Communication Ltd in December 2015.
Bamboo sued Safaricom and other parties for permitting unapproved usage of his musical works “Mama Africa”, “Yes Indeed” and “Move On” through the Skiza platform. The court system delivered a Sh4.5 million payout to Bamboo as a result of his legal proceedings which lasted multiple years.
The copyright infringement lawsuit filed against Safaricom Skiza first appeared in 2008 with Mugithi singer John Boniface Maina also known as JB Maina leading the complaint. It took six years for JB Maina to resolve his copyright lawsuit against Safaricom Skiza for 10 of his songs by receiving Sh15.5 million in an out-of-court settlement in 2014.
The court cases demonstrate that Safaricom Skiza persists in being criticized for inadequate management of copyright and royalty payments that should go to Kenyan music creators.
As the largest digital music distributor of music in Kenya Safaricom continues to sustain criticism about its insufficient payments to artists for music usage on its platform.
The ongoing lawsuit exposes new challenges for Kenyan musicians to secure fair digital payment as the industry demands increased protection in this digital environment.
