Bingu International Conference Centre in Lilongwe Wednesday played host to an International workshop on music rights awareness which attracted several renowned artists.
Musicians Union of Malawi (Mum) President Reverend Chimwemwe Mhango described the one day workshop as important in the development of music and the creative industry as a whole.
“As a music body we are happy with this workshop which has come at the right time. There are so many things which have changed and as musicians but also artists we need to adapt if we are to stand out,” he said.
Mhango said the meeting discussed several issues including the challenges facing musicians in this technological age.
“As Mum we are trying to grow the music industry and so through this workshop we were looking at ways and means of dealing with so many challenges that we face,” said the Mum president.
He also said that the meeting which was attended by Minister of Sports and Culture Grace Chiumia was part of exposure for musicians as they interacted with fellow artists but also other experts from Sweden.
According to Mhango, the workshop was part of a project on music rights awareness in Africa.
“This project was founded and initiated by Niclas Molinder of Sweden and Sonia Mutesi Hakuziyaremye of Belgium and coordinated by Wictoria Godlund. The other partners include Pan African composers and songwriters alliance, Youtube, Cisac and Spotify,” he said.
Mhango said through the workshop they looked at ways on how musicians can get proper payments for what they produce.
“We also assessed the music industry on how much it has made for the past three years and even looked at how musicians can export music to other countries and also discussed critically as to whether Malawi is ready for online music selling,” said Mhango.
He also said that three countries namely Malawi, Rwanda and Tanzania are part of the project’s study to find out more on its music industries, its success stories and challenges.
“From here the workshop will go to Tanzania and then Rwanda where I will join them,” said Mhango.
He said that the facilitators of the workshop have since recorded a documentary featuring singer and guitarist Lulu.
Some of the artists who were part of the workshop included Rudo Mkukupha Chakwera and Joseph Tembo, who are Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) board members, Davis Njobvu, Peter Mawanga and Gloria Fachi.
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