The Tanzanian legendary music producer Joachim Marunda Kimaryo, famously known as Master J, has declared war on artists who sell music that he produced on different platforms such as Spotify, Apple and Boomplay without any agreement with him.

While speaking on one of the famous Youtube shows hosted by Salama Jabir, Master J revealed his intention that next year he is planning to take to court some of the artists to claim royalties that he claims his.

Master J said that only a handful of artists in Tanzania are aware of the music business and how it operates, making them think they owe absolute rights to the music produced, hardly knowing that even the producer has privileges from the music.

“I have seen an artist today telling his fans to buy his music across platforms. He has already forgotten that it was I who produced his entire album. To whoever knows I produced his music, they should come to terms with me before I go to court,” – Said Master J.

“Other artists think they paid for that music, but what they paid was studio time, not my rights as an artist/producer.” – Master J.

Master J also said many producers die people for not knowing their rights, but they have produced a lot of good work their entire life, which hurts and must be re-checked to ensure everyone gets what they deserve. 

Traditionally, producer royalty is based on how the artist was paid, which is typically a percentage of the record’s sales price multiplied by the number of CDs or downloads sold. However, the artist can negotiate with the producer to buy his full rights and owe total rights to his music. That’s doable, said Master J.