When Elani came out crying foul in a now highly publicized video against MCSK, there were a lot of public figures who backed them. The band only received 31,000 shillings as royalties for their music in 2014 which was arguably their most successful year.
The campaign trended under the hash tag #ElaniSpeaks and caught the attention of various Twitter Big Wigs. These included Victoria Rubadiri, Boniface Mwangi and Adele Onyango.
Oh My God! You Will Not Believe How Much MCSK Paid Elani!
In the video, Elani explained how artists earn their money. They were dejected by the fact that MCSK was paying them peanuts whereas their research showed them that they deserved more. They visited various radio stations to see their airplay logs and they differed with numbers listed by MCSK.
These are some of the tweets that got impressive traction during the trend:
I can mention to you 5 top artists who will always sabotage your fight to reform MCSK because Maurice Okoth bribes them. #ElaniSpeaks
— Robert ALAI (@RobertAlai) January 13, 2016
#ElaniSpeaks Did you know that EVERY Matatu in Kenya pays MSCK to play local music? Yep! Now, take a moment, think about that cash.
— Follow IG:@XtianDela (@xtiandela) January 13, 2016
When wildebeests get to the Mara they are afraid of crossing.. until a bold one jumps in. Thank you @elanimuziki for jumping in #ElaniSpeaks
— holydave (@holydave) January 13, 2016
What's even more appalling is MCSK are now harassing private car owners for licenses. Unbelievable. #ElaniSpeaks
— Aaron Rimbui (@AaronRimbui) January 13, 2016
Elani got 31k out of their hits and you dare ask me why I leave all my dope tracks in the bathroom #ElaniSpeaks
— Its Gitz Bruh! (@iGitz_) January 13, 2016
Now this gives me hope. No more tolerating medocrity, scams, incompetence…we need to say enough. #ElaniSpeaks https://t.co/0yxJLOi2oO
— Ory Okolloh Mwangi (@kenyanpundit) January 13, 2016
I think it's time @TheMCSK faced the music… #ElaniSpeaks https://t.co/xxGgiKMPKZ
— Victoria Rubadiri (@vickyrubadiri) January 13, 2016
Unbelievable greed!! How are artists supposed to grow with such treatment?Beyond human understanding..#ElaniSpeaks https://t.co/n1ryeAgFAA
— Femme actuelle (@zippoglisia) January 13, 2016
What @elanimuziki have done is become candid in a way that transforms entertainment in Kenya. Bravery. #ElaniSpeaks pic.twitter.com/D3vyKRDWtG
— Marcus Olang' (@marcusolang) January 13, 2016
Elani just pulled an activist move on corruption in MCSK.Brave,important video https://t.co/7uNcNGJgZI #ElaniSpeaks pic.twitter.com/pklrwyAqvb
— Boniface Mwangi (@bonifacemwangi) January 13, 2016
Exactly. We only want transparency and accountability. It is not about amounts. It is about honesty. #ElaniSpeaks https://t.co/2ibqhXEkt1
— Elani (@elanimuziki) January 14, 2016
Artists make money from 5 main avenues. -Performances -Sales -Endorsements -Downloads -Royalties. #ElaniSpeaks pic.twitter.com/gy15DiNn4m
— Elani (@elanimuziki) January 14, 2016
Thnk you @elanimuziki for speaking out.There's a lot of rot in the system/industry that artist know off.Cartels must be stopped.#ElaniSpeaks
— Suzanna Owiyo (@SuzannaOwiyo) January 14, 2016
Kenyan politicians & admins tell arts educators they're teaching useless subjects but do nothing about theft of artist revenues #Elanispeaks
— Daystar LanguageArts (@DaystarLanguage) January 14, 2016
