Earlier this week, Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) suspended Uganda Performing Rights Society (UPRS) CEO James Wasula and Compliance Officer Dickson Matovu for allegedly mismanaging the royalties collected from different TV and Radio stations, as well as online venders.
Today, Matooke Republic has learnt from our sources that the new UPRS caretakers have collected a whooping Shs500 million in just two days. This money is collected by UPRS as royalties on behalf of composers, musicians, performers and producers of music, film and other forms of art.
The money is collected from television channels, radio stations, and online venders sites like YouTube and others who play and distribute this kind of art. UPRS is then mandated to distribute this money to musicians and other stakeholders according to the frequency of consumption.
Musicians and other stakeholders have been complaining in the past that their royalties are being mismanaged which forced URSB to move in and start investigating the complaints.
With this development, one can only wonder how much a popular musician would be earning from their music even when they don’t get to perform, if the royalties from their art is distributed equitably.