Hi All

I’m posting this on both I-network (UG) and Kictanet (KE) to continue and expand dialogue that has been going on within the Linux User group mailing list in UG.

A few weeks ago I shared a website that we have been working on as an experiment on local content.  This website presents an archive of broadcast content from about 16 local radio stations going back to the beginning of 2010.  http://www.yradio.ug/

I firmly believe that Africa’s local content will be mainly multi-media as opposed to the written word.   This goes back to our heritage where our history has been mainly through story telling passed down from generation to generation as opposed to our European cousins,  where the written word goes back for many generations.

However the multimedia might fly in the face of what I call historical IPR and Copyright legislation.  I do believe that this legislation needs to be reviewed in favour of the current times where the traditional methods are unenforceable.

On the international scene African nations are being forced to adopt some of this legislation which I do believe will stifle innovation and growth.

For Kenya I understand that  Kenya Music Copy Right Association  has been in place and collects from those who play music from local artists.  I would like us to look at what has happened to that industry in the last few years since this was put in force.   In the late 90’s  early 2000’s Kenya local music was  dominant in the region.  However the industry has not grown as it should have and has been overtaken by other markets like Uganda where strict enforcement does not exist and the most frequently played music is local ugandan music.

Some have said that what yradio is doing is theft.   I would like to here more views on this and also on the notion that our future content for the continent will mainly be Multi-media.

Regards

Badru