Total discord in the local music industry

After a month-long training programme in the UK and Switzerland, music producer George “Jojo” Ouma Onyango of Jojo Productions is back with both good and bad news for players in the music industry.

Onyango, a director of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya, says the good news is  that Kenya enjoys enormous goodwill abroad, and the bad is that the country will not benefit from this goodwill until it streamlines its chaotic music industry.

The producer said that during the course on copyright and related rights at the World Intellectual Property Organisation Academy in Geneva, Switzerland, which was followed practicals at the British Copyright Council in association with the UK Intellectual Property Office in London, he learnt just how badly the local music industry is doing.

Speaking during an interview with Weekend, Onyango lauded WIPO for the initiative, which was aimed at instilling good management in the music industry, but pointed out that such  knowledge is only applicable in an orderly environment.

Said Onyango: “I now realise just how chaotic our industry is, and  most of  what I learnt through the  bodies that collect royalties overseas can only be applied in a much more disciplined environment — and  Kenya is far from that.”

Indeed, the chaos is pervasive, and is evident in the licensing of music for public broadcast, distribution of  royalties, quality of the music, right through to its production and retailing, all of which point to a sector in need of a major overhaul for  the business to grow and  the art to flourish.

No genuine structure

Asked whether Kenya has a genuine structure to produce and market music, he said it did not, adding that this discouraged potential investors. “They  would not understand how we function and they would not want to invest in a situation that is as messy as ours,” he observed.

The government has been constantly blamed for its indifference to issues related to music and the arts in general, especially the infringement of copyright laws, which continue unabated — and with impunity.

This has  contributed to the mayhem that has  turned the  Kenyan music scene into a  jungle where the basic rules  of the art and its  standard business practice have been breached at  will,  effectively killing both the spirit of good conduct and ethics that the sector requires in order to  grow.

During his training overseas, Onyango  also learnt that the way the local royalty collecting body classifies people in the chain of production is flawed, leading to a situation where people who do not deserve any money get paid.

For instance, there has been  no distinction between the roles of a producer and  an executive  producer. The former is merely an investor who pays the studio bill while the latter guides production in artistic terms and is  more instrumental  in the success of a  recording.

Consequently, a producer’ s royalties may sometimes be higher than those of  the recording artiste.

Onyango said local executive producers  are  happy  with the  current mix-up because it  gives them money they do not deserve.

He also cited the cases of  artistes who have  recorded cover versions and have been paid money that should rightfully have gone to the composers and arrangers. In such cases, their due was only as performers. “Both anomalies  will now have to be corrected,” he said.

He  also  agreed with those saying the licence fees paid by music consumers is  too low and does not adequately compensate the artistes for use of their music. “We have to revise the rates and decide on a  more appropriate level,” he asserted.

Low standards

But the real challenge lies in the quality of  the music, which has fallen so low that it is not really exportable  as a finished product.

The issue is not talent, but rather, the end product, and Onyango believes that many good  songs are destroyed by incompetent producers and studio personnel.

“We have to find a  way to create the requisite structures for production as practised in developed countries if  our music is to get international appeal and export market.

The only time  that we had some semblance of  production was  in the ‘60s  and  ‘70s and  the results are evident. Today, artistes produce their own music, which means they do not have an independent person to help them decide on the  nature  and quality of  the recorded product and are  making a mess of it.

Besides, music has become a free for all, so anybody with a music software and a computer can claim to be a studio engineer or producer, even  when he or she has no basic knowledge of music production.

He  asserted  that artistes have to go back to their role as musicians  and  allow real producers to guide their product. Similarly, there should be criteria to determine the qualifications of a  producer or an  engineer.

“There are too many people out there masquerading as studio engineers and  producers who have no basic knowledge of  the art  and are destroying  music,” Onyango observed.

The perennial issue of  music distribution is another of concern. It was first raised in the ‘70s by veteran musician David  Amunga, who suggested the establishment of a central distribution system for all music sold in the country.

His argument was that a centralised structure would  make music available to all, especially good music by small producers getting started in the business.

He noted that the system would be convenient for retailers as it would save them the  headache of  using different sources scattered all over the country, as was —and still is — the case.

His call was ignored, but Onyango sees a serious need to reorganise general music distribution if the music sector is to grow.

He said the increase in the number of players has led to confusion in the market, sometimes leading to a situation where retailers are faced with a huge demand for a CD but have no idea where to get it. This lack of  supply has benefited pirates, who have thrived as a result.

“We have to instil order in this business it in order to reap the full benefits,” said Onyango.

But he stressed that it will take more than just the music fraternity to cure the ills facing the music business in the country. He said the government has to play its role by enforcing laws that affect music, as well as serving as an an active watchdog regarding matters affecting the business.

But Onyango adds that artistes and producers also need to see how they have contributed to the mess and correct it. “We have to instill discipline not only to grow, but to attract investment  and  international recording companies gain access to global markets. So far we have been doing badly.”