Strauss Lunyangwe
WINDHOEK – John Max, the Chief Executive Officer of NASCAM, was recently appointed to serve on Africa’s regional body the Confederation of International Society of Composers and Authors (CISAC).
Max has served on the board from 2014 to 2016 after the society held its annual general assembly in Namibia.
In 2016-17, he advocated for the review of the 1987 CISAC Sydney Resolution, which has affected many Collective Management Organizations (CMOs), as it prevents local CMOs in Africa from directly licensing satellite television broadcasters from outside the receiver signors territory. Meanwhile, locals, who pay a subscription fee, have no control over contents packages in the case of music, for example, DSTV Namibia.
“I feel it is not fair. As a country, we are dominated by the music content of our neighbour countries, or our music content royalties are paid at foreign copyright societies. We are demanding such royalties to be forwarded to us, as there are no proper accounts reported. This matter has been affecting our CMOs and only the big CMOs have been benefiting,” he stressed.
Going into his new tenure on the board, Max wants the African region’s musical content to be controlled by Africans themselves and the CISAC world board to implement a single licence system in this regard.
“Let’s support and enjoy what is ours (music), and let’s create more opportunities for the music industry to grow at maximum level and preserve our identity and the Namibian culture.
“For all music users, please make sure that you have authorised licences to use that music in your place,” he added.
He further said Namibia is on the right path in managing the rights of its members and those of sister CMOs, and wants all members to benefit from all digital platforms that use their music.