Musicians’ rights:

PM Yang consolidates control, puts Tutu Muna out of the show
A Prime Ministerial decision of 8 July 2015 creates a follow-up committee to cleanse the author’s rights sector of its multifarious woes. The Minister of Arts and Culture has nothing to do with the committee.
By Mercy Neba in Yaounde

PM Yang

Prime Minister Philemon Yang is determined more than ever before to ensure a lasting clean-up of the copy rights sector of the country, especially the management of musicians’ rights.
    The PM on Wednesday 8 July 2015 signed a decision No 058/CAB/PM, bearing on the creation, organization and functioning of a follow-up committee to put in place measures to regulate the management of author’s rights of the musical arts domain.
    The PM’s decision is the follow-up to a previous decision in April this year creating an ad hoc committee to study the problems plaguing the musicians’ world in Cameroon and make policy proposals towards a lasting solution.
    The Median learned from on good authority that the Ad hoc committee had since completed its work and submitted its report to the PM.
    The creation of the follow-up committee is therefore aimed to ensure the implementation of its proposals and continue with efforts to clean the musicians’ house in Cameroon.
    Composed of eight members drawn from the PM’s office and other stakeholder departments, the follow-up committee is charged with the drawing up of new statutes to regulate management of author’s rights bodies and also elaborate an electoral code for all author’s rights associations, be them of the musical arts or plastic arts domain.

    The committee is also expected to come up with a set of rules and regulations to guide administrative, financial and accounting procedures for author’s rights bodies. It will also propose medications on existing legislations and regulations guiding the author’s rights sector.
    The work of the committee will culminate in the convening of a general assembly for the creation of a new author’s rights association of musicians, through the fusion of CMC and SOCAM.
    Also, audits will be done on the management of these two structures and also the Special Fund for Support of artistes that was managed by the MINAC.
    Given the complex nature of calculating, collecting and redistributing author’s rights, the PM has ordered the signing of a convention between author’s rights bodies and the taxation department for the latter to use its expertise to calculate and collect author’s rights on behalf of the former. The state will also fix the tax rate for author’s rights.
As for the well being of artistes, the government has urged the National Social Insurance Fund CNPS to sign a convention with artistes’ associations towards assuring insurance policies for artistes.
    Meanwhile, the follow-up committee will also look into the situation of piracy and find a lasting solution to the scourge.
    The committee has a mandate of 3 years renewable.
Observers say by creating and giving wide powers to this committee, the PM has virtually ostracized the MINAC, Ama Tutu Muna from the handling of all issues concerning musicians. They add that this could be very frustrating to Ama Tutu Muna, who has virtually transformed the MINAC into somewhat of a ministry exclusively for musicians.