Fixing Zimbabwe’s Music Royalty System: Why ZIMURA Must Reform or Partner Regionally

ZIMURA’s recent woes are largely the result of gross incompetence and a failure to deliver on its mandated task. According to its own founding documents, ZIMURA exists “to ensure the collective management organization mandated to license music users, collect royalties, and ensure composers are fairly compensated for their creative works.” By this definition alone, one can firmly and without doubt render ZIMURA a failed organization.

OPINION Article By Patson Mashingaidze

Recent inconsistencies regarding how much revenue has been collected over the years have sparked outrage within the artist community, with allegations of corruption and calls for practical reforms. This outcry is clearly a cry for help from artists who desire a fairer, more functional, and transparent music ecosystem.

However, the challenges faced by the Board and its employees stem from multiple factors. These include global technological disparities, with Zimbabwe lagging behind in internet access and technological education since the early 2000s. This lag has resulted in a failure to develop a skilled workforce capable of meeting international standards or keeping pace with rapid advancements in emerging technologies.

It is therefore accurate to state that the national collector has failed to adapt to a dynamic environment where emerging technologies are a central factor in digital and mechanical rights collection. These systems rely on technical data aggregation to track copyrighted material, its consumption, and commercial exploitation within specific regions or countries by broadcasters, event venues, and entertainment spaces with the sole aim of collecting licensed revenue to be paid to content producers.

The current situation reflects a failure attributed to multiple factors beyond the present Board and its employees.

However, it is critical to highlight the global technological disparities between Africa and the West, which leave countries such as Zimbabwe lagging infrastructurally. Poor internet access, slow speeds, and limited digital education continue to hamper progress.

Our continent often described as the last digital frontier has not adequately invested in developing skilled human resources to keep pace with technological advancement. This has ultimately affected the national collector’s ability to adopt modern systems for copyright tracking and royalty collection.

Without a doubt, we are living in the most lucrative era of musical entertainment in history. This reality raises worrying yet progressive questions within the artist community particularly around royalty payments for copyrighted works and mechanical rights. These payments have been inconsistent, insufficient, and largely devoid of transparent revenue aggregation for the past two decades. As a result, artists are left proverbially and literally struggling to make ends meet.

Zimbabwe boasts a vibrant music landscape, though it must be said that there is technically no “music industry” but rather a Recorded Music Industry a discussion for another day. Year after year, talented artists pour their hearts and souls into their work, seeking both sustenance and creative fulfillment in what is a lucrative business in many other regions of the world. Many of these creators are becoming increasingly disillusioned with the (ZIMURA) Zimbabwe Music Rights Association’s incompetence and failure to disburse funds collected from broadcasters and entertainment venues for mechanical rights licensing.

At this juncture, acknowledgment must be given to digital curator and creative advocate Plot Mhako of earGROUND TV, who has been pivotal in driving the hard but necessary conversations with industry players and stakeholders. It is no secret that ZIMURA has struggled to pay royalties to its members, leaving many artists feeling undervalued and frustrated.

At the center of this failure lies incompetence and the continued reliance on outdated, archaic systems that are not dynamic enough to keep up with the ever-evolving digital metaverse. This is a generationally induced incompetence the way music is consumed and produced has advanced globally, while our region remains largely untrained and ill-prepared to engage with modern aggregation systems at a professional level, in line with the expectations of copyright owners.

It must be made clear that the essence of a thriving recorded music industry lies in the ethical and fair treatment of artists and content producers particularly in matters of compensation. For many Zimbabwean musicians, however, it feels as though the fruits of their labor are being withheld by the very institution meant to protect their rights.

The lack of timely royalty payments is detrimental not only to individual artists but also to the overall health of the industry.

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When creators are unable to sustain themselves financially, Zimbabwe’s rich cultural tapestry risks unraveling and becoming vulnerable to exploitation by international labels under outdated and unreasonable terms. This is especially concerning in an era where blockchain technology enables full copyright ownership, offering artists greater negotiating power and control over their revenue streams.

I therefore propose among several solutions to be outlined in a forthcoming document to be submitted to the Ministry of ICT and Parliament that regional partnerships be explored, particularly through a reciprocal agreement between ZIMURA and the South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO).

SAMRO has a long-standing reputation for effective rights management and transparent royalty distribution. Partnering with such an institution could significantly strengthen ZIMURA’s operational capacity. A reciprocity agreement would provide Zimbabwean artists with a more efficient and transparent royalty system, help restore trust, and open cross-border opportunities for wider reach and collaboration.

The benefits of such a partnership would be multi-faceted. Shared resources and expertise could improve data management systems, tracking of performances and broadcasts, and ultimately lead to more equitable royalty distribution. This collaboration could also reinforce the need for artists to actively engage with and hold their rights organizations accountable, fostering open dialogue and rebuilding trust.

An intentional drive toward education and training of industry executives in emerging technologies such as blockchain and Ethereum-based smart contracts that enable real-time payments into artists’ digital wallets is also imperative.

The crisis surrounding royalty payments in Zimbabwe is urgent and, if left unresolved, risks driving exceptional talent out of the country. A reciprocal agreement between ZIMURA and SAMRO represents a proactive step toward repairing industry relationships and ensuring artists are fairly compensated.

It is time for all stakeholders artists, producers, policymakers, and rights organizations to unite and forge a sustainable path that nurtures creativity, protects intellectual property, and revitalizes Zimbabwe’s recorded music industry.