Trending Jamaica News: Bounty Killer’s royalty settlement is estimated at J$60 million
One of Jamaica’s Music Industry’s black eyes is the constant complaints of young and old artists that somebody they have trusted cheated them out of royalties. Sometimes it’s local entities, and other times, it’s foreign. But, the problem is not unique to Jamaica. It is even worse in the United States.
The problem is an old thorn for artists. It was prevalent in Jamaica during the fifties, sixties, and seventies. And as we become more modern, you assume artists will become more competent and avoid the mistakes those who came before them made. Not so. The problem keeps getting worst generation after generation.
Still, artists can avoid this thorn in their flesh, which usually appears later in their careers. If young and aspiring artists would spend a little time learning the basics about the business side of the Music Industry.
And that means young artists must see what they do as a business. But instead, they see it as fun. And it’s only- when they started making money, they began to think about business. And by that time, they had often gotten cheated out of millions. So now, they have to employ the services of a lawyer to recover some of that money.
Earlier this year, veteran and legendary Dancehall artist Bounty Killer filed a lawsuit in London to recover royalties owed by a British citizen named Othman Mukhlis. The estimated value is J$60 million. Mukhlis decided to settle. But who knows if he can pay?
Bounty announced the settlement in a post on his IG page on December 3, 2022.
According to the lawsuit Bounty Killer filed, Othman Mukhlis and his company Jamdown Limited/Abood Music Limited had collected more than £325,000 of royalties on behalf of Bounty Killer since 2002 he never paid the artist.
Killer’s former manager uncovered the issue of unaccounted money. So Bounty retained lawyers on both sides of the pond. And the lawyers found records of statements and payments of over £325,000 that Mukhlis collected on behalf of Bounty.
The settlement sounds like sweet music to Killer’s ears, and it should. But he will never know how much more money he should have gotten for his twenty years of work.