By Ashley Moyo
ENTERTAINMENT WRITER
moyoa@dailynews.co.zw
ZIMBABWE Music Rights Association (Zimura), a body of composers and publishers of music that was created with the purpose of protecting the rights of musicians under the copyright law, has postponed its 40th anniversary concerts to next year.
This was revealed by the association board chair Albert Nyathi at the organisation’s fully packed annual general meeting held yesterday at Robbie Mupawose Hall in Harare’s Showgrounds.
“As part of our 40th anniversary celebrations, we had planned this year, but we have decided to move it to next year such that we create ample time to prepare. We need to come up with a memorable event,” said Nyathi.
According to the initial plan, Zimura was supposed to host two concerts, one in Harare and the other in Bulawayo before year end. Zimura was formed in 1982 with a mandate to collect royalties on behalf of composers and publishers of music as well as to protect the performing rights of musicians.
The AGM, a platform to ventilate the organisation’s operations, was attended by hundreds of musicians and notable faces included Charles Charamba, Pastor G, Ex Q, Somandla Ndebele, Diana Samkange, Dereck Mpofu, Willis Watafi and Josphat Somanje among others.
Nyathi also took the opportunity to share positive developments and projects carried out by the organisation during his tenure. Some of the notable achievements done include the acquisition of a stand in Bulawayo, which will be used by artistes for rehearsals and as offices.
Speaker after speaker praised Zimura’s work of safeguarding the interests of musicians. This comes as Zimura has grown in leaps and bounds since its inception. The association started with a handful of musicians but over the years, thousands have joined.
Currently, the organisation boasts of over 4 000 members and more are still expected to come on board. Despite the tremendous growth of the association, it was also raised that Zimura was also being negatively affected by the harsh economic environment prevailing in the country.
