Ugandan singer Weasel Manizo has revealed that he received Shs285,498 in music royalties from the Uganda Performing Right Society (UPRS), days after the organisation announced the distribution of Shs200 million to musicians and other rights holders.
Weasel shared a screenshot of the mobile money payment on social media and sarcastically captioned it, “UPRS best cheque ever,” a remark that appeared to express disappointment with the amount he received.
Weasel is one half of the celebrated music duo Radio & Weasel, which rose to fame with the late Mowzey Radio through hit songs such as Nakudata, Bread and Butter and Ability. Since Radio’s death in 2018, Weasel has continued to pursue a solo music career while collaborating with other artistes.
The payout comes amid growing debate over how royalties are collected and shared among Ugandan musicians. UPRS recently announced that it would distribute Shs200 million to registered rights holders, a move that coincides with renewed calls for stronger copyright enforcement and the effective implementation of Uganda’s amended Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Act.
However, the announcement has drawn criticism from some industry leaders. During the recent annual general meeting of the Uganda National Musicians Federation (UNMF) at its Mutundwe headquarters, federation president Eddy Kenzo questioned the transparency of the exercise.
Kenzo said UPRS should first explain where the Shs200 million came from and the criteria used to determine how much each musician receives before celebrating the payout. He argued that many artistes still do not understand how royalties are collected or calculated.
“I have seen UPRS announcing that they are going to distribute Shs200 million, but there are still many unanswered questions. Musicians need to know where this money came from and how it was collected,” Kenzo said.
He warned that without a transparent and accountable distribution formula, many musicians could end up receiving only a small fraction of the total amount despite the headline figure announced by the organisation.
UPRS is mandated to collect royalties on behalf of musicians by licensing businesses and other establishments that publicly play copyrighted music. The organisation monitors music usage across platforms such as radio, television and digital services, collects licence fees from commercial users, deducts administrative costs and distributes the remaining revenue to registered rights holders based on how frequently their music is used.
