Uncle Ray . 🦅

CREATING. PROTECTING. OWNING. 🇺🇬🎶 The future of Uganda’s music industry belongs to creators who not only create great music, but also understand, protect and own the value of their work. We joined songwriters and other industry stakeholders at an important engagement hosted by the Songwriters Association of Uganda (SWAU), one of the member associations of the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF). The conversation went beyond simply writing songs and discussed songwriting as literary work, copyright, ownership, publishing, royalties and the business behind creativity, because a song is not just art; it is also intellectual property capable of creating income and building a legacy for generations. I appreciate the different institutions that contributed to this important conversation: Uganda Reproduction Rights Organisation (URRO) for its partnership and perspective on reproduction rights; Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) for taking creators through copyright law and the amendments; Makerere University for bringing the academic perspective; and UNMF for continuing to advance awareness on the Copyright Management System (CMS) and the broader effort to strengthen copyright management in Uganda. Most importantly, I thank the Songwriters Association of Uganda for organizing this engagement, and every songwriter and creative who showed up to learn, share experiences and strengthen our industry. As creators, we must increasingly understand that writing a song is only the beginning. We must know who owns it, how it is registered, how it is licensed, how it generates royalties, and how those rights can be protected. Your words. Your music. Your rights. Your legacy. Let us create, protect, own, publish and earn from our creativity. Edrisah Kenzo Musuuza President, Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) @JohnKayWriter @unmfederationug @martinbetalife @StateHouseUg @URSBHQ @Mglsd_UG @Makerere #Songwriters #MusicBusiness #Copyright #CreatorsRights #SWAU #UgandaMusic #UNMF #URRO #URSB #CopyrightManagementSystem #CMS #MusicPublishing #CreativeEconomy