Sabastian Magacha Earned 33 Cents a Day From Music, Ordered to Pay US$200 Child Maintenance
Popular gospel artist Sabastian Magacha stunned many this week after revealing in court that he only earned US$120 in royalties for the entire year of 2024—an amount that equates to just 33 cents a day.
Magacha made the revelation during a child maintenance hearing at the Harare Civil Court, where he was accused by the mother of his child of failing to support their six-year-old.
While most of the attention focused on the child support dispute, a deeper issue quietly emerged: the shockingly low royalty payout from ZIMURA, the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, the very organisation meant to protect and compensate artists for their work.
Under oath, Magacha explained that his income is limited and unreliable. He told the court he survives solely on what he makes as a gospel musician, with no other source of income.
In an affidavit submitted to the court, he laid out the figures.
“I furnish the State that my monthly income is plus or minus US$500. I am not formally employed, and I am a gospel artist. That is my source of income, and I have no other source of income. I have attached a detailed statement from the Zimbabwe Music Rights Association, where they pay each artist a yearly, once-off payment for the songs played on air. The net revenue from the ZIMURA was US$120 for 2024,” Magacha said in his opposing affidavit.
Despite his financial challenges, the court ruled that Magacha must pay US$200 per month in child support.
This ruling sparked debate, with many people expressing sympathy for the child while others began to question the bigger picture; how can one of Zimbabwe’s most recognisable gospel artists earn so little from his music
The US$120 payout raised uncomfortable questions about the broader music industry. If someone like Magacha, with name recognition, airplay, and a known catalogue, gets so little, lesser-known artists likely receive even less, or nothing at all.
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