Artistes in Kenya have a reason to smile as the Parliament has exempted them from paying the 25% excise duty in the recently proposed Financial Bill.

The amendment proposing the exemption was moved by the Finance Committee Chair Gladys Wanga.

Wanga voiced the plight of artistes and said they are working hard to produce their music and what they receive in return is not reflective of their hard work.

Gladys Wanga. PHOTO/COURTESY

She revealed that it is mobile phone operators who take the lion’s share of the proceeds.

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“Our artistes in this country sweat blood to be able to record and play their music and they are never rewarded… The reward is very small compared to the investment these young artistes make,” Wanga said.

The Homa Bay Women Representative also announced that there are plans to amend the Copyright Act which is aimed at ensuring artists enjoy a greater share of the proceeds.

"I undertake to bring an amendment to the Copyright Act so that that sharing arrangement is done in such a way that the artistes get the bulk," she added.

Mobile telecommunication service providers sell artiste's songs as ring back tunes to subscribers.

Currently, the proceeds from the sales are shared in a formula where an artiste gets only 16 cents per shilling, while the taxman gets 25 cents and Safaricom bags 51 cents. 

Several artistes have in the past complained against the sharing formula and some of them have come and shared the peanuts they receive after investing so much in the production of their work.