HARARE - The Zimbabwe Music Rights Association (Zimura) has threatened to bar the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Holdings (ZBH) from playing its members’ music so as to force the national broadcaster to settle a $600 000 royalties bill.

Two weeks back, the High Court passed a judgment directing ZBH to pay Zimura $600 000 in royalties owed to musicians but the national broadcaster expressed their intention to appeal against the decision.

Zimura believes ZBH’s proposed appeal is just a time-wasting tactic.

“We think these are delaying tactics”, said Zimura director Polisile Ncube.

“We might resolve on stopping them from playing our music.

“We might apply for an immediate court interdict to stop them from playing our music as they are just buying time.”

Ncube told the Daily News yesterday that an all-stakeholders meeting has been planned to respond to ZBH’s stonewalling tactics.

“The meeting will be held on December 4.

“Since ZBH have said they are appealing, we will also be discussing the way forward with our stakeholders.

ZBH chief executive officer Happison Muchechetere told the Daily News last week that Zimura’s charges were outrageously high, an accusation scoffed at by the Zimura director.

“I was surprised to hear what Muchechetere was saying about the rates; clearly he does not know what he is talking about.

“In 2007, we had an agreement with ZBC which stated that we would get 10 percent of their advertising revenue.

“It did not state figures or in what currency but it was simply a percentage which meant that if ZBC was to get zero percent in advertising revenue then we would also get nothing. I don’t know where he got the dollar per song he was talking about,” she said.

Zimura board chairperson Albert Nyathi told the Daily News in a separate interview that ZBH had to play ball because no station could thrive without music.

“I am yet to see a radio station anywhere in the world that can survive without music.

“Of all the countries I have travelled to, music makes the stations kick. For ZBC in particular they will grind to a halt without music because they are basically music stations”. - Entertainment Writer