By Jimmy Chazama:
Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) Monday lived up to its culture of decorating top 10 recipients with certificates for blank media levy royalties in its disbursement of over K1.8 billion.
Among the top earners include musicians Phyzix, Onesimus, Eli Njuchi, Saint, Driemo and Soldier Lucius Banda as well as filmmaker Joyce Mhango Chavula.
Njuchi, Saint and Driemo were also part of the top earners during the previous disbursement where they pocketed over K10 million.
The blank media levy royalties which are for the period April 2025 to March 2026, has seen the copyright body disbursing a total of K1,819,370,912.46 to 3,594 beneficiaries to 25,578 works for the disciplines of music, literature and films.
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Blank media levy is a form of compensation provided to creators for the private copying of their copyrighted works.
The levy is collected by Cosoma in collaboration with Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA) and this is done from importation of storage devices such as flash disks.
Cosoma Executive Director Dora Makwinja during the presentation of the certificates described this year’s over K1.8 billion disbursement as a milestone.
Makwinja said this demonstrates their unwavering commitment to protecting intellectual property rights, rewarding creativity and contributing to the growth of the country’s economy in line with the aspirations of Malawi 2063.
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She then took time out to warn creatives against spreading false information about its operations urging members to seek clarification from their office.
“If we are to grow then we need to refrain from misinformation,” Makwinja said.
Director of Arts in the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture Humphrey Mpondaminga said the payout demonstrates the sector’s strength.
“The sector is capable of empowering artists through income generation and this can be seen from this disbursement,” Mpondaminga said.
Mhango Chavula creator of movies such as Lilongwe said being among the top earners validates the work of producers.
“We are motivated. We will continue to produce quality films that succeed both locally and globally,” she said.
Cosoma spokesperson Catherine Mitungwi Chiumia said they had disbursed over K1 billion to musicians, over K259 million to films and over K519 million to writers.
She described the allocation as one of the largest in the society’s history, attributing the increase to growth in the use of devices that fall under the blank media levy.
