By Gracious Mugovera

DELIBERATE infringement of copyright better known as piracy has been regarded as a disease killing or reducing the growth of the arts industry in Zimbabwe.
The term ‘piracy’, has been described as a benign term to describe the toll that music theft takes on the enormous cast of industry players working behind the scenes to bring music to our ears.
The affected include recording artistes, audio engineers and technicians.   
In the country, it seems, stakeholders have given up and are at the mercy of the ‘pirates’.
The arts sector has been severely affected to the extent that it is no longer profitable to work in the industry.
Many a musician have become destitute while their works are popular with fans.
As 2014 begins and many artistes are on their annual break, it is time for them to strategise on efficient ways to do away with the scourge.
Many have promised to deliver new works and these productions that we eagerly await must benefit the artistes.
Although piracy is a worldwide problem, it appears to be worse in developing countries and we are no exception.
Locally, organistions such as the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, Zimbabwe Republic Police, Ministry of Justice and Legal Affairs and the Zimbabwe Association of Recording Industry are among those tasked with the duty of curbing piracy.
It is high time such organisations, together with the artistes, employ effective ways to stamp out piracy.
These organisations have met many times, but the gatherings have failed to come up with long lasting solutions.
In some countries piracy has not affected artistes and maybe it is time we find out how they managed to beat the scourge.
Obviously these countries, whose artistes are multi-millionaires have adopted and introduced serious game changers, that include the use of technologies that do not allow for easy access to an artiste’s copyright.
In developed countries, technologies to detect genuine and fake products are in use while at the same time they can track and trace the movement of products through supply chains.
Organisations that seek to curb piracy in the country should make use of such technologies that enable the artistes to make monetary gains.
For instance, every time their products are downloaded on the internet or through mobile phone functions like the bluetooth.
Adopting such technologies might be expensive in the short-term, but in the long run, artistes’ lives will significantly improve.
Government on the other hand should come up with stiffer penalties for ‘pirates’.
No artiste in the country has been spared from the scourge and all must take this time, the break period, to enforce measures that will be effective.
The matter does not need emotions, but real strategies that work.
And artistes must now become more hands-on when it comes to their products strictly monitoring their products from production centres to retail sites.
It is also important that products become readily available to counter the ‘pirates’ that move in to fill gaps in the market.