Kenya has shifted the collection and distribution of copyright royalties to the eCitizen digital platform, a move designed to bring greater transparency to royalty management in the creative sector.
The transition follows a presidential directive requiring the Kenya Copyright Board (KECOBO) to digitise royalty collection and distribution through eCitizen. A Service Level Agreement between the Performing and Audio-Visual Rights Society of Kenya (PAVRISK) and the relevant government directorate has now enabled the platform to go live.
Digital shift follows presidential directive
PAVRISK chief executive officer Joseph K. Njagih said the digital system would improve transparency, reduce revenue leakages and streamline the collection and distribution of royalties to rights holders. The agreement was signed in the presence of Principal Secretaries Dr Belio Kipsang (State Department for Immigration and Citizen Services) and Fikirini Jacobs (State Department for Youth Affairs and Creative Economy), as well as KECOBO chairman Joshua Kutuny, acting executive director George Nyakweba and PAVRISK chairman Edwardo Waigwa.
The new system is expected to support a requirement that at least 70% of collected royalties be distributed directly to rights holders.
PAVRISK becomes sole licensed CMO
PAVRISK is currently the only collective management organisation (CMO) authorised to collect royalties from users of music and audiovisual works in Kenya, following regulatory action against other CMOs. KECOBO recently suspended the operating licence of KAMP Copyright and Related Rights Limited for three months, citing alleged violations of the Copyright Act, financial mismanagement, governance failures and non-compliance with regulatory directives. The regulator subsequently authorised PAVRISK to collect royalties on behalf of rights holders previously represented by KAMP in the sectors allocated to that organisation.
KECOBO also declined to renew the licence of the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK), barring it from collecting and distributing copyright royalties after it failed to meet licensing conditions under the Copyright Act 2001 and the Copyright (Collective Management) Regulations 2020.
Unified Copyright Licence and compliance inspections
Njagih said users of music and audiovisual works can now obtain a Unified Copyright Licence (UCL) through eCitizen from anywhere in the country. “There will be no more excuses why users of music and audio-visual works will fail to comply with the regulations governing the collection of royalties by not obtaining Unified Copyright Licences (UCL) from PAVRISK since licensing has been made simple through eCitizen platform,” he said.
He added that PAVRISK licensing personnel, working with KECOBO, eCitizen and the National Police Service, would conduct regular inspections of businesses that use music and audiovisual works to monitor compliance with copyright regulations.
The digitisation of the royalty system comes amid ongoing efforts by Kenyan authorities to reform the country’s collective management framework and address concerns over transparency, governance and the distribution of royalties to creators.
