If there ever was a single defining moment in Uganda’s entertainment industry, then it probably was Etania: Life of the Party – Becoming show, which packed Lugogo Hockey Grounds to capacity, and left just as many people outside the grounds, grooving along. For context, Etania Mutoni does not sing – at least not professionally. She is a radio/TV host, who has now secured her place as one of East Africa’s finest female DJs. The Gen Z-driven concert last Saturday was a shift in how it is going to be done, going forward, right from how the show was massively promoted mostly on social media, to how Etania turned Lugogo into a massive, open- air discotheque, where young people danced along to her energetic moves and chanted songs’ catch phrases the way the Gen Xs once did in a proper nightclub. The only difference? DJs such as Alberto from that generation, were not as monetised and commercial as the Gen Z DJs have discovered. In fact, stating DJ as a profession was frowned upon before, and something many did as a side hustle as they held on to ‘real’ day jobs; this generation has changed all that. Etania’s profession, which started in 2020 during the lockdown when NTV launched the mix show, is DJ – ‘the life of the party’, as she calls herself. Before her, other young women such as Sheila Gashumba and Lynda Dane had already ventured into this now lucrative profession, but Etania’s April 4 concert was a special eye opener. Many talented Ugandan musicians have failed to pull a respectable crowd to a similar venue, and here comes Etania, who takes their music and turns it into something else at her parties. HOW WILL THE COPYRIGHT AND NEIGHBOURING ACT AFFECT HER? DJs, whether playing on radio or elsewhere, depend on other people’s creative works to earn a living. And while there has been a Copyright law passed in 2006, because it does not cover technological advancements such as streaming, social media and more, Ugandan artistes have been at the forefront, pushing for an amendment. On March 17, Parliament passed the Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Bill 2025, which takes care of those missing links, sending the creative and particularly music fraternity into jubilation. The outgoing Mawokota North MP and musician, Hillary Kiyaga aka Dr Hilderman, brought it to the floor of Parliament as a private members bill. “The bill aims to see that the creative industry becomes lucrative; it is going to widen the scope of earning; when you look at the royalties clause, which is very particular, you will realise that at least someone will start to earn from [their craft],” lawyer Brighton Abaho explained during a March 19 edition of Spectrum on 90.0FM Radio One. If President Museveni signs the bill into law as expected, it will be require that for every commercial use of music – be it on radio, at a show like Etania’s, TV, bars, commercials, mobile phone ringtones, etc – contracts musts be signed and registered with the copyright department at Uganda Registration and Services Bureau (URSB), to ensure that affected artists also earn commensurately. Bars and venues like the hockey grounds that hosted Etania as she sampled musicians work and earned heftily from it, have to be licensed/ registered to use that kind of content and track it for proper compensation further downstream. Of course, there have been fears that what if such places and broadcasters simply shun local music and concentrate on trending foreign content such as Amapiano and Nigerian artistes? The Uganda Communications Commission (UCC), which regulates broadcasters, in 2019 instituted a mandate for local television and radio stations to promote national culture, diversity and talent, tasking them to use up to 70 per cent local content during prime time. Additionally, collection societies in different countries usually have reciprocal agreements with local ones, to monitor and license their works. LUCRATIVE ROYALTIES ELSEWHERE? Streaming platforms and other functional systems abroad have opened the eyes of Ugandan artistes to the fact that their craft is being enjoyed free of charge, where they would be raking in millions. Where more established singers such as Jose Chameleone, Eddy Kenzo, Bebe Cool, Mesach Semakula, Afrigo band, etc, are no longer in the category that drops a hit song every year and then counts on earning from a packed launch concert at Lugogo Cricket Oval, the law if passed allows them to keep earning royalties, even from their older catalogues, which, ironically, they may even have paid radio DJs for, to popularize. Established musicians have tasted the juice in royalties from elsewhere, and know exactly what is being denied them at home, when local productions and telecoms simply use their music without paying. Kenzo’s song Mbilo Mbilo, for The Gen Z-driven concert last Saturday was a shift in how it is going to be done, going forward, right from how the show was massively promoted mostly on social media, to how Eta- nia turned Lugogo into a massive, open-air discotheque. Joel Sebunjo Dr Joel Isabirye Dr Hilderman Eddy Kenzo Etania at her concert, for example, is a soundtrack in the 2019 Hollywood movie Holiday In The Wild, starring Kristin Davis and Rob Lowe, and that must be giving him serious royalties. No wonder, he became the face of the push for the Copyrights law in Uganda. Artistes are also earning from international streaming platforms such as Spotify and Apple Music, as well as social media channels that take copyright seriously, and the days of musicians paying radio DJs to play their music could be over. Media consultant and developer, Dr Joel Isabirye told The Observer the law will require full compliance to pay by those who use artistes’ works for commercial purposes. “Some radio stations are already paying, so it is a question of getting the rest into the paying bracket. It will not be difficult to convince them. It is too early to tell if it will be a gamechanger in artistes’ earnings; however, the projections are that it will be,” Isabirye said. “All signs are that all stakeholders want this to work, so the industry should be optimistic.” Currently, Uganda Performing Right Society collects payments on behalf of musicians, subdividing it according to play counts. Other collection societies licensed by URSB are Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation (URRO) for literary works, and Uganda Federation of Movie Industry for audio-visual works. UPRS, according to URRO’s Charles Batambuze during the March 19 Spectrum show, manages about 16,000 Ugandan songs, as well as reciprocal agreements for foreign songs, which in turn streamlines how broadcasters get licenses for several songs – local and foreign – depending on how the user wants to use the works. Should one not comply, “we do enforcement. We come in with police and confiscate your transmitters, and go to court. Copyright infringement is both criminal and civil…” The new law introduces fines of up to Shs 50m and prison terms of up to ten years. For now, the only people crying foul are young artistes and producers, who feel the established musicians are blocking the road they used to their own greatness: free airplay on radio and TVs. “But luckily, our generation is not interested in radio and TV; who watches TV anymore, anyway? We are targeting streaming platforms and copyright already exists there,” Isaiah, an upcoming singer/producer, told The Observer. Renowned Folk/World musician Joel Sebunjo cryptically posted on his X the day the amended bill was passed: “Ugandan musicians are some of the biggest copyright infringers in the world! Lay your trap!” In his comments section, replies casually listed several artistes who have used others’ beats and hooks in their songs without authorization, causing interesting debate. Other artistes have translated famous international songs into local dialects and gotten away with it. So, as the president prepares to sign the bill into law, hope everyone sees it for the double-edged sword it is, and do better.The post Of Etania’s smooth landing and the double-edged sword in Copyright law appeared first on The Observer.