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Hope Masike and Alexio Gwenzi

Copyright Academy

As we draw closer to the end of yet another music-filled year, the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) recently conducted its second and last distribution of royalties for 2023.

Top earner/s of the year took home about US$1 000 for the first distribution and about US$2 000 for the second one.

Others only earned the US$20 that each ZIMURA member receives.

While some musicians close the year with profits, others are complaining that ‘Mumusic hamuna mari.”

In the history of music, we have had numerous financially successful musicians.

Locally, we have had the late Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi who managed to build a whole arts centre — Pakare Paye in Norton — from his earnings. Internationally we have also had many examples of moneyed musicians.

It doesn’t require kuromba or any such tricks to make good profit from music. Here are a few nuggets each musician should take heed of in order to make their music profitable in 2025.

It is important to note that as we carry forward the national mantra “Zimbabwe is open for business”, we must not forget that this applies to all industries, including music.

A serious musician, therefore, must be able to realise profits from their trade .

But who is a serious musician? The first stage of professionalising one’s business as a musician is realising that a musician is a proper business, not a tuckshop.

A business is formally registered for it to trade as a legal entity. Therefore, any serious musician must be registered formally.

As the music landscape has changed over the years, so too has the music business.

One of the aspects that stand out now is that a musician’s copyright is a bank worth investing in.

Therefore, firstly when it comes to copyright as one of the most important income streams of a musician, one must be registered with the country’s copyright governing associations such as Zimura.

Making good music alone is not adequate in this era because a substantial amount of a musician’s revenue comes from their royalties.

Structurally, it is cumbersome and nearly impossible for a musician to collect revenue on their own as it is impossible to track everywhere one’s music was played.

Zimura has the necessary infrastructure to track airplay.

It is a registered collecting organisation domiciled in the county’s ministry of Justice, Legal and Parliamentary Affairs and is a signatory to the Berne convention.

Zimura has signed reciprocal agreements with collecting societies in other countries as is required by this convention.

Furthermore, with a history of over 40 years of successfully collecting and distributing royalties, Zimua has the institutional legacy at the business of copyright.

However, making good music and registering with Zimura alone still is not adequate.

Indeed, a serious musician is defined by being a legally registered practitioner in the industry, but that alone will not ensure that at the end of the year one walks away with commendable profit from their royalties.

A serious musician must also invest in propelling airplay of their music.

A musician who means business makes sure to have a solid and actionable publicity and media campaign for their work.

Merely releasing your music and having it available on all major online platforms will not suffice. Even the mere submission of one’s music to a radio station is not enough.

One must also subsequently seek rigorous radio and television airplay, along with a plan for healthy online streams/likes/views.

It is from these that a musician can realise good royalty payments from Zimura at the end of each royalty season.

A serious musician seeks radio and television interviews so as to make broadcasters and listeners aware of their music.

They must regularly send out press releases to all media houses and journalists informing them of their music, gig schedule and any other noteworthy career developments.

With an aggressive media plan and push, comes good airplay which then leads to healthy royalties.

Lastly, making good music, being registered with Zimura plus a good, well-implemented media strategy is still not enough.

A serious musician keeps this in a loop in order to maintain relevance and continued airplay.

This is not a one-week project. Publicity, for a serious musician, is an ongoing practice.

It is important to note that royalties are not only earned through radio and television airplay.

Social media platforms now offer royalty-related income streams too.

Other streams also include music airplay through involvement in film scoring locally and internationally, placement of one’s music in advertisements and so forth.

A serious musician researches on all these and makes sure to place their music in the correct and relevant places.

As we close the year 2024 and start making plans for 2025, remember to include solid plans to make your music as profitable as is humanly possible, because it is a business.

Be consciously open for business.