Copyright as a Catalyst for the Growth of the Zimbabwean Music Industry

Abstract

Music in Zimbabwe is very popular but most of its creators earn meagre incomes from this profession. Copyright has a role to play in moulding the industry to ensure that musicians earn a better living from their creative works. However, a holistic approach is important and was adopted by the researcher. This is because copyright cannot work in a vacuum as key stakeholders support is required. For example, government and Arts institutions are important stakeholders. Efficient legislation and cultural policies must be put in place in order to encourage growth in the industry .Music consumers, musicians, music producers, arts institutions and IP experts were interviewed by the researcher. Ignorance of copyright matters was found to be a major obstacle to the respect and appreciation of copyright .It is quite unfortunate that such ignorance extends to right holders themselves the musicians who do not have an understanding of how copyright works or what exactly it is. The research exposes the various relationships between stakeholders and the unique challenges each of these faces within the industry. One major challenge raised by most participants during the interviews was the issue of piracy. The major contributory factors being high rates of unemployment, ignorance of the law, corruption, and lack of political will on the part of government and non existence of legitimate music distribution channels. In the rare cases that a distribution point exists, musicians tend to overprice the product overlooking very important principles of business that affect their sales of music products. A cause for concern was also the disunity of musicians themselves as few participate in the Zimbabwe Music Union (Z.I.M.U) that is offering funeral assistance packages, medical aid schemes and also housing schemes in partnership with reputable companies. This incapacitates the organization and makes lobbying for policy changes and other musicians‟ interest.