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Music can be described as the art of arranging and combining sounds to be able to be produced by the human voice or by instrument
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Membership
Requirements
ON THIS PAGE:
- Becoming a member
- Notification of works
- Live / Recorded Performance Returns
Becoming a member of MCSK is easy! There no annual subscription, only a few simple requirements. *a joining fee of Ksh. 1000 will be paid, Individual composers and lyricists can join if they have works that are active - that is the music must have been broadcast, or performed in public in a significant way, for at least the two years prior to joining. It must also have been transmitted through a diffusion service (music that is, for example, played in a shopping mall). * Publishers can join MCSK if the publishing entity has a catalogue of several works of which at least two thirds must have been commercially published. Some or all of the writers represented by the publisher must be members of MCSK or its affiliated societies.
To apply you will need to fill in both an Application for Membership of as well as Notification of Works Forms to be affiliated to MCSK- the latter forms are required to be filled in with each new work composed. Membership forms are available from our Customers Services Department. Ensure that you fill in each step of the Membership Application properly and once you have completed your form, you must send it to MCSK’s Customer Services Department at our Main office or any other Branch office.
- a valid ID copy
- proof of copyright by means of either a CD, cassette or staff notation.
(Staff notation because all music must be written before it can be read, understood, and played by composers/musicians.)
It is essential for rights holders to fill in both the Membership application- as well as the Notification of Works forms. Both are necessary to ensure that composers are fully paid for any performance of their work. * Notification of Works is the foundation on which MCSK’s royalty distribution is based. It is essential that only original musical works are notified to MCSK by writers. * Remember that both published (works assigned to a publisher member of MCSK) and unpublished (all works specially commissioned for a film, video, or television/radio programme as advertising jingles, logos, bumpers, stings and promos) works must be notified to MCSK by the composer/author. Publishers must complete a Publisher Notification of Work Application for each new work published by the company - over and above that completed by the composer/author. Remember that a Deed of Assignment between the publisher and composer/author must accompany each Notification of Works form. Notification of Works forms are available from our Customer Services Department.
In order to earn properly, music rights holders have a responsibility to inform MCSK each time their works are performed live or during a recorded performance. This is a responsibility that falls on the members of MCSK who must fill-in live/recorded performance returns with due care and diligence. These are available from our Membership Department.