Malawi to regulate music downloads

Musicians Association of Malawi (MAM) has warned people who use illegally downloaded music on their gadgets, stressing that the new copyright act will regulate online sales.

Speaking to local press on Wednesday, MAM President Rev. Chimwemwe Mhango said people who download music from the internet should be aware that internet will be regulated because the new bill clearly highlights mobile transactions.

“We know that things are changing globally. Artists are releasing music on CDs, uploading on internet where people download to use on their gadgets. There are so many gadgets that people are using be it in their cars or computers. This law if enacted will help us curb this malpractice,” said the optimistic Rev. Mhango.

Commenting on the same, Copyright Society of Malawi (COSOMA) senior licensing officer Rosario Kamanga noted that the demand and supply imbalance has also contributed to piracy.

“There are so many reasons why piracy is done. The other reason is that artists do not produce enough to meet demand. As a result, some unscrupulous business people find ways to capitalize on this demand and supply imbalance,” he noted.

Minister of Sports and culture Grace Chiumia tabled the long overdue bill in the last seating of parliament.

The new Act will drastically eradicate piracy as stiffer fines ranging from K5 million to K10 million will be charged to culprits according to the nature of the offences.

Meanwhile, Malawi-music.com which also works closely with MAM launched its online store dubbed #MalawiMusicStore or #MMS on 1st May 2016.

According to the website, the new music store allows users to pay for music by a number of means including: Paypal, Tnm, Airtel, Bank Cards among others.

Some of the music available for purchases includes Nepman’s 2015 album, Piksy’s and Princess Chitsulo’s albums and all previously sold albums including: Barry Uno’s Footprints, Lucius Banda’s album, Anthony Makondetsa’s and MaBlacks albums.

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