In June 2022, Colonel Mustafa, a rapper who had been out of the music industry for almost a decade, released a song called Maloko in an attempt to revive his career. Unfortunately, the song only received 300 views on YouTube, indicating the challenge of the changing industry. This failure marked the beginning of Colonel Mustafa’s downward spiral into poverty, with friends and even family abandoning him. He kept his struggles hidden until a viral video showed him working on a construction site, looking thin and disheveled.
Colonel Mustafa explained that he had been suffering emotionally and financially for a long time and had been struggling to put food on the table. Despite attempting to seek help from friends in the industry, nobody came to his aid. He had sold his car to open a clothing boutique and finance the release of his song, but neither venture yielded the expected returns. He moved into a bedsitter in Utawala and began working odd jobs to make ends meet. He survived on a budget of Sh200 a day and worked as a casual laborer at construction sites, hiding his identity with a hoodie and a face mask.
Colonel Mustafa battled depression caused by several factors, including disappointment at the lack of success of his music. Releasing a song and only receiving 300 views was a significant blow. He wondered whether his life would have been different if he had made different decisions when he was at the peak of his career. He made a lot of money, but he did not spend it wisely as a young man.
Many legacy musicians from Colonel Mustafa’s era face similar challenges and receive little to no royalties for their music since they are not registered members of a Collective Management Organization (CMO). Colonel Mustafa confirmed that he has never received any royalties collected on his behalf by CMOs. CMOs are responsible for collecting royalties on behalf of performers and distributing the money to individuals, but it seems that the money is only distributed to registered members.
Lawyer Robert Asewe, the founder of Music Advocate Africa, stated that it is illegal for any CMO to refuse payment to an artist who is not a registered member since the CMO collects royalties for all artists. Mr. Asewe explained that in music copyright, there are two significant rights: the master sound recording and songwriting. The record label or producer of the song is entitled to a share of the royalties generated from the song. If the artist wrote the lyrics and contributed to the composition of the song, they own royalties.
