Malawi's COSOMA Gets Royalty Transparency Boost from MMC Publishing

• MMC Publishing offers a broadcast monitoring system to support COSOMA and musicians in resolving royalty-sharing disputes.
• The system generates objective and auditable airplay logs that can be used by artists and COSOMA when reconciling royalty claims.
• The move comes as COSOMA faces mounting pressure over how it calculates and distributes royalties.
• MMC Publishing's broadcast monitoring system has been tested for many years with leading commercial clients, including Kentam Pharmaceuticals and Nyumba24.

We are ready to help out as we already have in place a broadcast monitoring system that has been tested for many years, which is already trusted by leading commercial clients, positioned to help musicians and COSOMA resolve airplay reporting disputes with verifiable data.

MMC Publishing, a Malawi-based digital publishing company, has offered to support the Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) and musicians in resolving royalty-sharing disputes through its broadcast monitoring system. The system, which has been tested for many years with leading commercial clients, generates objective and auditable airplay logs that can be used by both artists and COSOMA when reconciling royalty claims. This move comes as COSOMA faces mounting pressure over how it calculates and distributes royalties.

According to Dingaani Whayo, head of business development at MMC Publishing, the system addresses a long-standing problem in Malawi's music industry: the absence of an independent, verifiable record of what was played on air. This has led to disputes between artists, broadcasters, and revenue-collecting authorities.

Whayo stressed that the system is not new or unproven, having been presented to COSOMA five years ago and refined through live commercial use with reputable companies such as Kentam Pharmaceuticals and Nyumba24.

The issue of royalty disputes in Malawi's music industry is complex and multifaceted. Whayo attributed the problem to a lack of proper monitoring, which has led to incomplete or inconsistent station-level reporting. This has resulted in disputes between artists, broadcasters, and revenue-collecting authorities.

MMC Publishing's broadcast monitoring system aims to address this gap by generating objective and auditable airplay logs that can be used by both artists and COSOMA when reconciling royalty claims. Whayo emphasized that the system is not just a solution for musicians but also for COSOMA, which can use it as a ready-made data source to strengthen the integrity of royalty distribution.

The offer from MMC Publishing comes at a critical time for COSOMA, which faces mounting pressure over how it calculates and distributes royalties. The move has been welcomed by stakeholders in the music industry, who see it as an opportunity to bring greater transparency and accuracy to royalty payments.

The introduction of MMC Publishing's broadcast monitoring system has significant implications for the music industry in Malawi. By providing a verifiable record of airplay, the system can help reduce disputes between artists, broadcasters, and revenue-collecting authorities.

For musicians, the system offers a way to independently verify that their work is being tracked and credited accurately. This can lead to more accurate payments and reduced financial losses due to disputed royalties.

The success of MMC Publishing's broadcast monitoring system will depend on its adoption by COSOMA and other stakeholders in the music industry. If implemented effectively, it has the potential to bring greater transparency and accuracy to royalty payments, benefiting both musicians and rights holders.

Lawyers and compliance officers should watch for the potential impact of MMC Publishing's broadcast monitoring system on royalty distribution in Malawi, which could lead to reduced disputes and more accurate payments for musicians.

Source: Original reporting via Malawi-Music.com