After the Raila spat, Sauti Sol loses 2,000 subscribers.
After presidential contender Raila Odinga’s coalition utilized their music without permission, Sauti Sol claims it is dealing with theft. On Tuesday, the boy band lost 2K YouTube followers. On Tuesday night, it had 905k YouTube subscribers, and on Wednesday morning, it had 903k.
The band lost a day after threatening to sue Azimio la Umoja for copying their song “Extravaganza” without permission. On Monday, ‘Extravaganza’ was played on an occasion where Azimio introduced Martha Karua as Raila’s running companion.
Copyright infringement.
Azimio’s use of their music without permission, according to the band, is flagrant copyright infringement as defined by Kenya’s Copyright Act, Section 35, CAP 170. Bien told Word Is that taking someone’s intellectual property without their permission is theft.
The ODM party stated that they played Sauti Sol’s song because they admired their efforts.
They admitted that the band is well-known, and that was their way of expressing their admiration for their music.
“The group has carried our country’s flag so high in international fora and every Kenyan appreciates this.” Bien took to Instagram to respond to fans who attacked them. “I’m reading comments on Twitter,” he wrote.
“Our education system is failing us. Too many ignorant keyboard warriors. The same guys stealing from us will steal from you.” He went on to say that they will never back down from doing what is right and that they will not take a political stance.
We think this was a noble move and that the band has a right to not have to take a political stand, especially at a time when the atmosphere is rich with political talks.