Zambian Govt Is Trying To Sacrifice Zambian Artists (Read)

Something Fishy About The Proposed Copyright Bill

Zambian Govt Is Trying To Sacrifice Zambian Artists (Copyright Bill). You know how artists sing about suffering as a form of art? Heartbreak, poverty, struggle, survival. Well, if this new Copyright Bill gets signed, musicians won’t be singing metaphorically anymore. They’ll be singing about literal suffering, because suffering is exactly what this law guarantees.

At first glance, the proposed Copyright Bill smiles at you. It waves politely. It pretends to care about artists. But once you actually read it, you realize the truth: this Bill is not designed to protect musicians. It is designed to quietly rob them, legally, politely, and with a straight face.

This Bill is basically the government saying, “Yes, you created the music… but don’t get too comfortable owning it.”

It begins by talking about artists’ economic rights, which sounds promising, until you notice the trap. Before musicians can even enjoy these rights, the law immediately introduces wide and dangerous exceptions. In simple terms, the law gives you rights with one hand and takes them away with the other. How does an artist survive when the very law meant to protect them weakens their ability to earn?

Then it gets worse.

Large sections of this Bill allow people to use artists’ work without permission and without payment. Not occasionally. Not in emergencies. In many everyday situations. Worse still, the law does not clearly define where this free use should stop. In reality, this means music can be used in adverts, political campaigns, movies, corporate branding, and public promotions, all without the artist earning a single ngwee.

So yes, under this Bill, F Jay’s music could be used commercially and legally, and there would be nothing he could do about it. Zamtel could use Nez Long’s song again and this time, he wouldn’t even have the right to sue. Your song could be played everywhere while you remain broke, silent, and powerless.

There is also a provision allowing so-called “personal use” of music without payment. This one hits musicians the hardest. Your song can be copied, stored, replayed, and enjoyed privately and you get absolutely nothing. To make it even more insulting, the law treats musicians differently from other artists. Other art forms are protected. Music is exposed. This is discrimination hiding behind legal language.

Educational institutions are also given a free pass. Schools and colleges can play and use artists’ work without paying, even though many of these institutions operate like businesses, charge fees, and generate income. Somehow, everyone else is allowed to benefit financially from music, but the musician is expected to survive on prayers, passion, and “exposure”.

And this is where the Bill completely removes the mask.

The government wants control over the collecting society. Instead of artists managing their own royalties through bodies they own, the Bill proposes a system dominated by government control. This is not regulation it is a takeover. Artist-owned institutions like ZAMCOP risk becoming government playgrounds. Independence disappears. Trust collapses. Artist power is neutralized.

The board that will decide how artists’ money is handled will be largely made up of civil servants, with artists forming only a small minority. That means decisions about your income can be made by people who have never written a song, recorded in a studio, or lived off royalties. Imagine strangers deciding how much your creativity is worth.

As if that wasn’t enough, the Minister is given sweeping powers to make rules for artists. Not artists deciding together. Not musicians voting at AGMs. One office. One pen. One signature. That is not empowerment. That is control.

Even internal issues like membership, leadership terms, fees, and governance are dragged into the law instead of being left to artists to manage themselves. The message is brutally clear: “You create. We decide.”

This Copyright Bill is not an accident. It is not a mistake. It is carefully written to look friendly while quietly stripping musicians of income, power, and independence. It turns creativity into charity and artists into spectators of their own work.

If this Bill passes in its current form, musicians will not be protected. They will be managed. Controlled. And slowly pushed into poverty while everyone else eats from their talent.

This is not copyright reform.
This is daylight robbery with official stamps 😈

If artists stay silent now, they won’t just be singing about suffering. they’ll be living it.

The Bill raises serious and uncomfortable questions.

1. Why are artists’ exclusive rights being deliberately taken away?
2. Why are musicians expected to give their work for free while other art forms remain protected?
3. Why does this Bill contradict earlier government promises about compensating artists for private and digital use?
4. Why are Zambian artists being denied compensation while other countries are introducing it? And most importantly,
5. why does the government want control over artist bodies instead of strengthening artist ownership?

In its current form, this Copyright Bill should not be supported.

Artists especially musicians are strongly urged to read the Bill and make submissions before 30 January 2026. This is not just about law. It is about survival.

Artists’ right to earn must be protected not sacrificed.