The Copyright Tribunal has issued temporary orders stopping Black Market Records from claiming ownership, monetizing, publishing or commercially exploiting music by Kenyan artists Harry Craze and Fathermoh pending the hearing of a copyright dispute.
The two artists, through lawyer Adrian Kamotho, separately moved to court accusing the label of unlawfully exploiting their music catalogues and interfering with their careers.
Harry Craze, whose real name is Harry Otieno Adoyo, told the tribunal that he was formerly part of Rico Gang before the group split in December 2023. He claimed that despite the breakup, Black Market Records continued asserting ownership over both the group’s music and his solo projects, including songs such as Matopare, Luku Ni Pyam and Diglo.
According to court filings, the artist accused the label of causing some of his songs to be removed from streaming platforms while allegedly continuing to monetize them without his consent or proper royalty payments.
Fathermoh, born Moses Otieno Ojwang and a member of Mbuzi Gang, also accused the label of unlawfully claiming ownership over 63 of his songs. He told the tribunal that copyright strikes issued against his content disrupted his ability to release music and negatively affected his audience growth and earnings on platforms such as YouTube and Spotify.
The artists argue that agreements signed with the respondents are invalid and accuse the label of fraud, misrepresentation, unlawful enrichment and infringement of their rights under the Copyright Act.
In its interim orders, the tribunal barred Black Market Records, its agents and anyone acting under its authority from exploiting the artists’ works or interfering with their performances, concerts and promotional activities until the case is heard and determined.
