Viral Tanzanian artist TID has issued a stern warning to Arbantone artists.
Speaking moments after landing in the country ahead of his club appearance at Kilimani, the viral singer issued a disclaimer that any artist, especially the arbantone ones, who are fond of using other artists’s instrumentals will be sued with immediate effect should they try using his without permission.
“Nitakufunga……… Mimi ndugu yangu ukachukua wimbo wangu. Mimi nitakufunga… Nitakuitia polisi… Ukachukua wimbo wangu uutumie kwa hiyo arbantone yako without my person nitakufunga mimi.
And I will hate you for the rest of my life.” Tanzanian artist TID warned any artist with similar intentions.
Consequences of using beats that are not originally yours
Some of the viral arbantone songs are: Dance ya Kudonjo, TikToker, and GBag na Jug. These are just a few of those arbantone tracks that are known because they’re trending, and should you listen closely, you will realize that the beats being used in the sound track are not their original version as they have been picked from other artists’s tracks that were initially recorded way back.
Arbantone artists YBW Smith & Goddy Tennor respond to ongoing criticism of the music genre
The question, however, remains: have they sought consent before using the beats?
A While back, a producer who is known for having worked with top musicians like Gyptian Dj Reem shed some light on the matter, saying that as much as the owner who holds the music and beats rights won’t have a problem with the music being uploaded on YouTube, it may however cause trouble if they try uploading it on Spotify and Apple Music and it goes viral, making more than they made out of it.
“If the producer finds out that you are making money off their beats, then they might sue you and take all the money you’ve made from it. It can happen that if the producer doesn’t like the song, they’ll flag it and pull it off YouTube.
There’s no problem making money off it. If you have sought permission, the problem comes when you haven’t asked for permission, and even worse if you start earning more money from the beats than even what the producer made out of it.” Producer Jeem shared.