Among the challenges that artistes face is indirectly earning from their work or intellectual property. This partly explains why most of them look to concerts, and especially events, as their direct and sole form of investment. To help solve this, a new initiative ‘Mdundo’, that is taking shape in Rwanda, is expected to see artistes continuously earn from their work through the number of downloads that the song gets, or more viewership. Since its inception in 2014, the platform, originally from Kenya has been widely appreciated and sold by Denmark investors. Starting its operations in Africa, it is now striving to promote all African music on the world map. Pacifique Girinshuti, the country manager of the initiative says that the platform is set to raise Rwandan music to an international level. “When music is being streamlined, listened to or downloaded on our website, we pay the artistes, so they are making more money and at the same time growing their fan base”, he told The New Times. According to him, ‘Mdundo’ just selects the songs of artistes who have registered and uploads them on the website. As they keep being listened to and downloaded, a certain amount of money goes to the owners of the song. They are paid in two annual installments, in January and July. Girinshuti adds that the mission of the platform is to create opportunities for Rwandan artistes by providing them with adequate royalties and promoting their brands to enhance the quality of their works. Peace Jolis, one of the artistes whose music is on the platform, says that the platform has allowed his music to be accessed at an international level. “I do not have fans here in Rwanda only, the platform exposes you to greater opportunities as you are being followed by people all over the world,”, he replied when asked how he has been facilitated by Mdundo website. According to the website, some of the Rwandan artistes who have garnered a lot of money from the website include Mico The Best, and Uncle Austin, among others.
