Reggae/Dancehall musician, Samini, has called for stronger royalty collection systems to ensure that creative people reap monetary benefits appropriately from their craft.

Blaming the lack of appropriate royalty payment structures on their predecessors, the “Linda” hitmaker reiterated the need for the current crop of musicians to fight for a sustainable mode of royalty collection so as to create a firm foundation for the next crop of musicians.

“Sometimes, as harsh as it might sound, people say we shouldn’t blame the past generation. But if we don’t act now, the next generation will come and blame us and wonder how we decided to walk around here and not have a system that will guarantee our intellectual property,” he told Andy Dosty on Hitz FM’s Daybreak Hitz Show on Friday, 29 May 2020.

He further stressed the need for the current crop of musicians to be concerned about their intellectual property rights and help strengthen the weak royalty payment structures in the country.

Samini also questioned the fact that early creators and contributors to the music industry, plied their trade without earning their necessary due, as a result of weak or nonexistent structures.

He revealed that for the past 12 years, the royalties he earned were as a result of his membership with international royalty collection organisations and yet had received nothing from his home country.

He also announced his virtual concert set to be hosted live on his YouTube channel today, Saturday, 30 May 2020.

Dubbed the “Untamed Virtual Concert”, Samini said his monetised YouTube channel was one of the numerous ways to make money, especially in this COVID-19 pandemic.

Other musicians such as Edem and Shatta Wale have also held virtual concerts to engage and entertain their fans and followers worldwide in these times.