The recent decision by Goodlyfe Magic Limited, trading as Radio & Weasel, to withdraw the Radio & Weasel catalogue from the Uganda Performing Right Society (UPRS) has once again brought Uganda’s royalty conversation into the spotlight. The company questioned the royalties it had received and called for greater transparency in the management of its catalogue.
While that matter runs its course, it has exposed a bigger issue: many young artists still do not fully understand what copyright protection, royalty collection, and rights management are meant to do.
The first thing every artist should know is that copyright protection and royalty collection are not the same thing.
The moment you create and record an original song, you own its copyright. Registering your work helps establish ownership should a dispute arise. It protects your rights, but it does not generate income on its own.
Royalties only come into play when your music is commercially used.
Commercial use simply means someone is using your music to support or enhance a business or service. This includes radio and television broadcasts, bars and restaurants playing your songs, concerts, shopping malls, hotels, gyms, public events, and certain digital services.
Every commercial use has the potential to generate royalties, provided it is licensed, reported, and paid for.
The next step is registering your music with a Collective Management Organisation (CMO), commonly known as a royalty collection society.
For most Ugandan artists, joining UPRS is usually the most practical option. Besides collecting royalties from licensed users within Uganda, it also works with similar organisations around the world through reciprocal agreements.
That means if your music is properly registered and used abroad, there is a mechanism through which those royalties can eventually find their way back to you.
An international CMO may also be appropriate, depending on where your career is based. However, for an artist whose primary market is Uganda, a local society generally has a better understanding of the domestic industry, local broadcasters, venues, and music users.
It is therefore better positioned to monitor local usage while still connecting you to the international royalty network.
Understanding royalties, however, is only part of the picture.
Many artists also confuse digital monetisation with royalty collection. They are related, but they are different income streams.
Digital monetisation is the money earned directly from platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, TikTok, and Boomplay through streams, advertising, and platform-specific licensing. This income is usually paid through your music distributor or digital rights administrator.
Royalties collected by a CMO, on the other hand, primarily come from the public performance and broadcast of your music by licensed businesses and organisations.
A successful artist can earn from both at the same time.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that joining a collecting society means money will start arriving immediately. It does not work that way.
Before royalties can be distributed, music usage has to be tracked. Licensed users, such as broadcasters and venues, are expected to submit music logs showing exactly which songs they played, when they played them, and how often.
These logs are then matched against the works registered by artists and rights holders. Without accurate logs, it becomes much harder to determine who should be paid and how much they are owed.
The collection process also takes time. Businesses must first obtain licences and pay the required licence fees.
The collecting society must then process the information, deduct administrative costs, and distribute the remaining funds according to its distribution policies. This means royalty payments often take months rather than weeks.
Popularity alone also does not guarantee significant royalties.
A song can dominate social media, weddings, and personal playlists without generating much collectable royalty income if those uses fall outside licensed public performances.
Meanwhile, another song receiving regular licensed airplay across radio and television stations may earn more than many people realise.
This is why young artists should avoid viewing royalties as their primary source of income, especially early in their careers.
Live performances, brand partnerships, merchandise, private bookings, and digital monetisation often provide more immediate earnings. Royalties should instead be viewed as a long-term investment.
Every song you release becomes another asset that may continue generating income years after it was recorded.
Artists also have responsibilities.
Register your works accurately. Keep ownership details up to date. Declare co-writers, composers, and producers where necessary. Understand every contract you sign, and know which rights you are assigning to managers, labels, or publishers.
The recent discussions surrounding Weasel’s catalogue also remind artists that they should actively engage with the organisations managing their rights.
Ask how distributions are calculated. Request statements. Understand the deductions being made. Learn how royalties are tracked and what happens when music usage cannot be verified.
Transparency benefits both artists and collecting societies because confidence in the system depends on understanding how it works.
Perhaps the most important lesson is this: copyright is not a cheque. It is an asset.
Like any valuable asset, it must be properly protected, properly managed, and properly understood. The better informed an artist is, the better their chances of building a music career that continues paying long after the applause has faded.