Gikuyu gospel musician Muigai Njoroge has welcomed a partnership between Safaricom and Music Copyright Society of Kenya in which Kenyan musicians will be able to sell their music directly to end consumers.
Speaking in a restaurant in Thika on Wednesday, Muigai said the new stream of music distribution would help fight piracy completely and thus raise earnings for musicians who had been hit hard by music piracy.
"Kenya music industry has for long been dominated by music pirates who reap off our hard earned money leaving us with nothing. This new system will eliminate them as our fans will be able to access music directly from us," said Muigai.
MCSK Vice Chairman Lazarus Muli said that the agreement, which in advanced stages, will see musicians sell their music directly to end users for as low as Sh10.
"The agreement stipulates that musicians will receive 70 percent of their sale earnings while Safaricom bags 30 per cent to cover administration costs," said Muli on Tuesday.
Muli also warned musicians against signing agreements before seeking legal consultations as they had unknowingly signed away rights to royalties for their music to companies.
He cited Eunice Njeri, a vernacular gospel singer, who makes an average of Sh38 million monthly but loses it to content sales firms.
Muigai further urged talented Kenyans to venture into music as a career because it is now promising to be well paying.