By Jimmy Chazama:
Artists can afford a smile once again as they are set to receive Blank Media Levy royalties for the period of April 2025 to March 2026.
This follows Copyright Society of Malawi (Cosoma) announcement that it will distribute over K1.5 billion in royalties under Blank Media Levy next week.
The copyright body’s spokesperson Catherine Mitungwi Chiumia said Monday that the amount being distributed this time around is higher than last year’s K1 billion.
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She attributed the increase to growth in the use of devices that fall under blank media levy.
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Chiumia said musicians will receive more than K1 billion with filmmakers and writers receiving K259 million and K519 million respectively.
“We are proud that our members are getting huge amounts and as a copyright body, we want these artists to benefit from their works,” Chiumia said.
She said blank media royalties being distributed are for works that have been authentically certified using its system of distribution.
“We assure members that all necessary preparations are being finalised to ensure the process goes as scheduled,” Chiumia said.
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She has since urged artists to remain patient as administrative and verification processes are being completed.
“We also would like to call upon members to use the Know Your Customer (KYC) system to update their details so that royalties can be sent directly to their bank accounts or mobile numbers,” Chiumia said.
Blank Media Levy is a small fee added to the price of things that store data, like phones, flash drives and memory cards. It pays artists when people copy their works.
Cosoma manages blank media levy and works hand in hand with Malawi Revenue Authority (MRA).
The previous distributions have seen musicians such as Driemo, Eli Njuchi and Saint dominating.
