Kenyan Music Is NOT Dead!

Kenyan music is one of the most diverse in Africa. It is growing in a fast rate with many upcoming artists. However, there seems to be a malignant cancer that is threatening to kill it-piracy. Musicians are unable to earn out of their labor. We have unscrupulous business people who have dedicated their time to bring the industry to its knees. People no longer buy original CDS, instead they just copy music from their friends.

This is also rampant in Kenyan Universities, where we have students who are in the venture of selling pirated copies of movies. One gets files of music and within a few days, everybody has a copy of the same music without spending even a single cent on it. This if not watched is threatening to bring the industry to its knees. A number of musicians have been unable to sustain themselves and thus they have opted to doing other ventures of the side. I spoke to x-Pat Mkwanja on this and he said he has opted to do business as a side business. All this coupled with a number of reasons are sure to bring this coveted industry down.

We need to step in as individuals and say no to piracy. That is if we still want to continue reaping the fruits of this industry that has magnanimous capability economically. The government also has a role to play. Proper legislation should be put in place to ensure that those caught are severely punished so that they serve as a lesson to the rest of the people.