The Copyright Society of Botswana (Cosbots), the country’s Collective Management Organisation, today met with Minister Jacob Kelebeng to discuss key challenges facing the creative industry.

𝗖𝗼𝘀𝗯𝗼𝘁𝘀 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿:

• Collecting royalties from users of copyrighted works and distributing them to rights holders
• Regulating the use and broadcasting of both local and international music in Botswana
• Issuing licenses for the use of protected works
• Managing rights related to public display of non-musical works such as art and sculptures.

Led by Board Chairperson Ms. Bakalanga Malikongwa, Cosbots emphasised its commitment to strengthening the creative sector and supporting artists. She highlighted the organisation’s focus on inclusivity and solving industry challenges.

𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗿𝗮𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗹𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗱:

• The ongoing economic struggles affecting creatives
• The need for government support, including consideration of a levy on technical services
• 𝗡𝗼𝗻-𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝘆 𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗼 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟴𝟬% 𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝟮𝟬% 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗺𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆.

Cosbots expressed concern that failure to follow this policy is significantly reducing artists’ earnings. They also noted that some broadcasters play mostly foreign music during late-night hours programmes or when closed to hold on for the morning starting hour.

Minister Kelebeng welcomed the update and commended Cosbots for its work. He assured the team that the Ministry would engage stakeholders to enforce compliance with the local content policy. He also acknowledged the issue of excessive foreign music on air and committed to addressing it.

Additionally, the Minister announced plans to inject P200 million into the creative industry. This funding is expected to boost local content production for radio and television, as well as increase performance opportunities for artists.

Cosbots was encouraged to remain accessible and continue engaging stakeholders across platforms to strengthen the industry.