By Lee Osbourne
News reaching our desk indicates that Club and bar owners are not happy with Ugandan Performing Rights Society boss James Wasula over collecting money from them for playing music of local artistes registered with the association.
We have learnt that there is a war brewing between UPRS and Kampala city hangout proprietors after armed men and UPRS inspectors confiscated equipment from some of the city bars.
According to our sources, UPRS is advancing the cause of copyright administration in Uganda where deejays, disco and bar owners will be charged Ushs 530,000 annually for playing music of the local singers registered to the organization.
However, most club and bar owners have vowed to rebel against this unfair treatment from UPRS indicating that this fee is too much for them and almost equivalent to the cost of license levied on them.
Some bar owners have informed us that Wasula’s team is collecting the money on behalf of all local artistes yet some of local singers are not registered to UPRS. They have vowed to stop playing Ugandan music if this hefty fees is not called off.