The Copyright Tribunal has temporarily stopped Black Market Records LLC and related parties from monetising or commercially exploiting the artistic works of Kenyan gengetone artistes Fathermoh and Harry Craze pending the hearing and determination of their cases.
In interim orders issued on May 22, the tribunal certified the matter as urgent and directed that the application be heard on a priority basis.
The tribunal further issued temporary injunctions restraining the respondents from claiming ownership, commercialising, publishing, monetising, or exploiting the musicians’ artistic works in any form until the matter is fully heard.
“Pending the hearing and determination of this application inter partes, and/or further Orders of the Tribunal, an injunction be and is hereby issued restraining the respondents jointly and severally, whether by themselves, their agents, employees or any person acting under their direction whatsoever or claiming through their authority from further claiming, asserting ownership, commercialising, monetising, publishing or in any other way exploiting the claimant’s musical or artistic works howsoever,” the tribunal ruled.
The orders also barred the respondents from interfering with the artistes’ performances, concerts, and promotional campaigns.
The suits were filed against Black Market Records LLC, Black Market Media LLC, and Cedric Singleton.
Court documents show that the artistes had entered into exclusive recording agreements with the respondents.
According to the filings, Fathermoh signed agreements both as an individual artiste and as a member of Mbuzi Gang, while Harry Craze entered into separate arrangements linked to Rico Gang.
The agreements reportedly covered music production, marketing, management, and distribution in exchange for royalties, publishing rights, and other agreed payments.
However, disputes later emerged over ownership of music catalogues, royalty payments, and control of their artistic works on digital streaming platforms.
In his filings, Fathermoh said he released 63 songs between 2020 and 2024 as both an independent artiste and a member of Mbuzi Gang.
The musician alleged that the respondents continued distributing and monetising the songs on streaming platforms such as YouTube, Spotify, and Boomplay despite the ongoing ownership dispute.
He also claimed that copyright strikes and takedown notices severely affected his online reach and income.
According to the court documents, his Spotify monthly listeners allegedly dropped from 80,000 to 46,000 within a month, while his YouTube subscribers reportedly fell from 228,000 to 32,900 following copyright-related disputes.
The artiste further cited losses in streaming revenue, publishing income, and Google AdSense earnings.
On his part, Harry Craze raised concerns over the monetisation and distribution of his songs, including “Matopare,” “Luku Ni Pyam,” and “Diglo.”
He alleged that the songs were removed from digital platforms and may have continued generating revenue during the dispute period without his approval.
Lawyer Adrian Kamotho, representing the musicians, argued before the tribunal that urgent intervention was necessary to stop what he described as continued commercial exploitation of the disputed works.
The matters are scheduled for mention and further directions on June 4.
Until then, the temporary injunctions issued by the tribunal will remain in force pending the hearing of both sides.