Nonini unleashed his fury at the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) CEO Ezekiel Mutua and he equally fired back.
In an interview on Citizen TV, Nonini took issues with MCSK over the disbursement of royalties to Kenyan musicians.
He accused the MCSK and all Kenyan Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) of ignoring the set directives of disbursing 70% of the royalties they collect to musicians.
“Artistes know the amount of money they should earn. A majority of those I represent have not been paid and their songs are always played. Why is money being collected and distributed in bits? Royalties are distributed once…There is no day these people have distributed 70%,” Nonini said.
Nonini further compared the disbursement of royalties in the US where he is currently domiciled to that of Kenya.
He said that the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), one of America’s biggest CMOs, collected $1.7 billion in 2023 and distributed Ksh.1.5 billion to artistes.
“There is zero human interaction because everything has been digitised, we upload our songs on their system and I can log into my account and see my statement,” he said.
“They are mandated to send an annual report to look into detail on how they have spent the money. It is illegal if they are found to have spent only 70%.”
Nonini singled out Ezekiel Mutua accusing him of bullishly leading at the front, asking him to cease dismissing musicians whenever they raise concerns over their royalties.
“If you cannot follow the government’s mandate what are you doing? He is an employee of artists he must respect them. Since when have you seen an employee arguing with his bosses?,” Nonini posed.
However, Mutua through his Facebook page on Tuesday morning, responded to Nonini with that statement saying that it is the same as the players starting to shout at their coach demanding respect from him forcefully because what they are doing is what they are getting paid for.
Mutua continued by explaining the importance of discipline in any field, saying that even if the coach is not playing, he must be there to ensure that discipline is available from the players – referring to himself as a coach and artists as players.
“This one backfired, quite literally! It’s akin to a player telling the coach “Respect us. We are your employer.” Of course the coach doesn’t play. But he manages and instils discipline in the team. If artists want to be respected, they must follow the rules and create content that promotes Kenya’s culture and moral values.
“No one can respect the lunacy of people dancing naked and putting on diapers like little babies. No industry can develop without discipline. For artists to be respected there must be a code of ethics. They must have professional standards. They should use their talent to build, not to destroy society. And they must respect the Government and their leadership!” Ezekiel Mutua wrote.
Related: Bien declines MCSK’s invitation to collect his royalties
