Africa-Press – Malawi. Musician Tay Grin has said that the creative industry is making headway as far as producing quality works is concerned in the country but it still does not reward fully as in Europe and United States of America (USA). The rapper, who trades under the brand Nyau King, said there was immense talent in the country but many are not reaping from their sweat.
“In Europe for instance, there are rewards in different artistic disciplines and this is why artists live by arts and focus on arts and not do other things. This needs to happen here so that artists can live by arts and make a living out of it and not rely on other things,” Tay Grin, real name Limbani Kalilani, said.
With the country celebrating its 57th independence anniversary Tuesday, Tay Grin said he would love to see artists getting royalties they deserve. “I would want to see royalties collected accordingly. The country also needs to implement laws and policies applied in other countries which will gave artists enough capital to invest in their talent and bring quality works,” he said.
The ‘Chipapa’ star bemoaned lack of money for investment for the industry. “We don’t see returns and artists are doing it for passion. We need to break this ice and my passion and dream is to take a lead role in advancing a cause for the creative industry in all the international platforms I attend and then engage government,” Tay Grin said.
Recently musician and arts activist Eric Trinta, who is proprietor of Nyamithambo Arts Palace, said, with the country celebrating its 57th Independence anniversary yesterday, there was little to show in the arts industry which still does not have an Arts Council in place.
Meanwhile, Tay Grin has been invited to be one of the keynote speakers at the upcoming AfrIPI launch to be held on August 26 2021 at Speke Resort Hotel in Uganda.
The artist, who has just released a new single titled ‘Joseph Kalilani’, has been invited to the event by African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (Aripo) secretariat and AfrIPI Project Management Team (PMT).
“This is something worth celebrating. As I look forward to this, I urge fellow creatives to give support and advise where possible so that my address at this launch speaks for us all,” he said.
Tay Grin said he dreams of a time when African and more especially Malawian creatives stand out and benefit fully from their craft. “I am looking at sharing at this platform and also learning and bringing back knowledge so as to have a good industry,” Tay Grin said.
The event aims to formally announce the start of the new action plan for EU-Africa cooperation on Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) protection, the IPR Protection for Africa (AfrIPI) project, and will include institutional speeches on EU-Africa cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property.
“As an internationally acclaimed artist, we would be elated and honoured if you would accept this invitation and grace this occasion,” reads a letter sent by Joseph Yiadom from European Union Intellectual Property office.
