THE BUSINESS OF MUSIC
one of the priorities for the office is in policies and legislative frameworks. The organisation has been pushing for the treaty ratification especially internet treaties, and specifically the WIPO Performances and Phonograms Treaty that they are currently pushing.
"The last government had done a good job at passing it through the various levels until the Cabinet approved it, but with the new government, of course, there is always some form of handover and gaps, so we are trying to see where it has reached and see whether it can go to Parliament for approval and ratification. It is very important right now. It is one of the WIPO internet treaties. It was put in place in 1996 but Kenya has not ratified it to date," she says.
With music consumption now being largely online, the organisation needs to protect the rights-holders in that environment. Having been approved by the Cabinet in the last government, the process is now in its final stages.
"A big thing that we are also happy with for Kenya is that the tariffs for the broadcasting, for the collecting societies, have been changed after years of lobbying to a percentage format. At least it now stands at 10 per cent, which means that rights-holders can finally start getting their fair share of the broadcasts of their music," says Angela.
Before this, Angela and others founded the Performers Rights Society of Kenya, becoming General Manager from January 2009 to October 2012, and then worked as CEO until September 2017. She is also currently the chair of the Kenya Association of Music Producers.
While being grateful for the trajectory her life has been on, does she miss the old singing days?
"Yeah. That is why I am still in the music industry, trying to sort out what I can with the policy issues and collective management issues - just trying to ensure that music players can make a living out of it," she says.
A Tattuu reunion might even be in the offing.
"You know we say, once an artiste, always an artiste, so even if I am not actively recording, you never say die. We did not stop. Life just happened, and we always say that we are going to release more music," she says.
"Like Debbie has not been around for almost 10 years. She moved to the US. That of course made it a bit of a challenge. Life happened. But we always talk and if she ever decides she is coming back, we might do something."