The Kenya Copyright Board has taken a decision to revoke the license for three Collective Management Organizations: Kenya Association of Music Producers (KAMP), Performers Rights Society of Kenya (PRISK), and the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK). This decision is on the basis of misappropriation of funds and failure to comply with conditions attached to the provisional licenses issued by the Kenya Copyright Board in April 2021, one of which was the requirement to engage with the Kenya Revenue Authority with a view to reaching a payment plan on tax arrears.
The Executive Director Kenya Copyright Board Edward Sigei stated that ‘‘the board set the conditions on the understanding that rights holders would rely on royalties collected by CMOs. The decision to deregister them follows letters issued for non-compliance to the licensing conditions; specifically, breach of administrative cost limit and diversion of royalties into an undeclared account whose operations are not monitored by Kecobo.
