Award-winning DJ Prince Kaybee has publicly supported Master KG's legal team's decision to claim royalties from companies who used the hitmaker's song “Jerusalema” for their “own endorsements”.
Taking to Twitter, the music producer said that he agreed that some companies did not join the worldwide challenge because they loved the song but to hijack the global trend for commercial purposes.
The “Fetch Your Life” hitmaker added that those companies were getting international ad campaigns at zero cost.
“It’s not invalid for @MasterKGsa to ask for money.
“Some companies were not joining the challenge because they love the song but to hijack the global trend created by the song which is like getting international ad campaign at zero cost,” he wrote.
Its not invalid for @MasterKGsa to ask for money. Some companies were not joining the challenge because they love the song but to hijack the global trend created by the song which is like getting international ad campaign at zero cost.
— PROJECT HOPE (@PrinceKaybee_SA) February 24, 2021
This week Dumisani Motsamai, an entertainment lawyer who takes care of legal and business affairs for Open Mic Productions, the company that Master KG is signed to, said that if a company used the dance challenge to exploit their brand, then they may be liable to pay royalties for the sound.
In recent statements by the lawyer and in an interview with KFM, Motsamai mentioned that although the dance challenge took the world by storm last year, it was never meant to be used to further businesses’ agendas.
“We have followed the news that Warner International, our partners internationally, has been taken to task by many people on social media, saying 'you guys are being greedy, we are doing this thing because of social [distancing], we are all down because of Covid', and I think it's quite on point.
“But there've been different versions of this challenge.
“There are situations where a child and their family are in their living room and they’re doing the challenge, or they’re outside and doing the challenge. That's perfectly fine.
“But we’ve seen these challenges taking it a little bit too far, where really, what has been happening here is that people have been pushing their brands,” said Motsamai.
He said if the challenge was taken up for private use, for fun or to uplift the nation’s spirits, then parties would not have to fork out money to pay Open Mic, however, he said for some of them “it's all about the brand”.
“There has been a thin line. Some of them will show their logo at the beginning and it's all about the dance.
“But others, when you look at them, it's all about the brand, the company that is doing the challenge and little about the challenge.
“Those are the ones that Warner and Open Mic has found,” he added.