Deal sheet
- Status
- Contested and, on the sources checked, unresolved as of early November 2026. Goodlyfe Magic Limited's 7 July 2026 letter gave UPRS 14 calendar days to produce a verified audit report, a full statement of accounts and any outstanding payments, and to remove the Radio & Weasel catalogue from its systems, warning of legal action over copyright infringement, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty and fraud if it did not. No source checked reports UPRS meeting that deadline, responding to the termination itself, or either party taking further public action since. UPRS's only identified public response, attributed to board chairman and president 'Yoyo' in a New Vision report, addressed the size of the royalty payout, not the termination notice: it said the catalogue's earnings are shared with the late Radio's estate and producer Washington, that some tracks were licensed to distributors including Kasiwulira, and that Weasel's registered catalogue is outdated.
- Type
- Licensing
- Parties
- Uganda Performing Right Society, Goodlyfe Magic Limited
- Amount
- Not applicable. This is the termination of a royalty-collection and administration mandate, not a monetary transaction. The disputed payout at the centre of the dispute, UGX 285,498, is quoted by every source as the trigger, not as a deal value.
- Rights covered
- Public-performance and broadcast royalty licensing, collection, administration and representation over the recorded catalogue released under the Radio & Weasel / Goodlyfe Crew name. This is a collecting-society mandate, not a copyright transfer: UPRS never held the copyright in the masters or compositions, only acted as licensing and collection agent for them under Uganda's 1985 CMO framework. Publishing rights specifically (as distinct from performance/broadcast royalties) are not addressed by any source checked.
- Territory
- Uganda
- Announced
- 2026-07-07
- Primary document
- Statement from a named party
- Sources
- Goodlyfe Magic Limited's 7 July 2026 termination letter, signed by director Douglas Mayanja (Weasel Manizo), quoted directly in a Nile Post report syndicated via AllAfrica on 8 July 2026 · mbu.ug, 8 July 2026, quoting the termination letter's language directly: 'gross mismanagement, lack of transparency, and suspected fraud,' earnings 'wholly inconsistent' with broadcast and public use, and a warning of legal proceedings 'without further notice' · New Vision (Uganda's state-owned paper of record), quoting UPRS board chairman and president 'Yoyo' responding to the payout complaint: the catalogue's earnings are shared with the late Radio's estate and producer Washington, some tracks were licensed to distributors including Kasiwulira, and Weasel's registered catalogue is outdated · Matooke Republic, 6 July 2026, reporting UPRS's own announced distribution of roughly Shs200 million to rights holders days before Weasel's payout became public, and Eddy Kenzo's quoted response as Uganda National Musicians Federation president: 'Musicians need to know where this money came from and how it was collected' · Patrol Uganda, 15 July 2026, quoting Eddy Kenzo: 'I personally didn't receive anything from UPRS' and 'Who registers this music, and those that have registered, how much did they actually get?' · Background only: UPRS founded 1985, Uganda's government-recognised CMO, CISAC member
Read this before citing: Sources disagree on the period the UGX 285,498 payout covers: New Vision, quoting UPRS board chairman and president 'Yoyo' directly, says it represents Weasel's accumulated royalties over the past 12 months; AllAfrica (via Nile Post), Matooke Republic and Patrol Uganda all describe an 18-month period. This record does not resolve that contradiction. Separately, no source checked states or implies that UPRS's licensing mandate, now terminated, ever extended to ownership of the Radio & Weasel masters or compositions; it covered only the collection and administration of performance and broadcast royalties, which is distinct from, and should not be confused with, master or publishing ownership. Nigeria's and Uganda's company registries could not be used to independently verify Goodlyfe Magic Limited's incorporation or ownership beyond Douglas Mayanja's self-identification as director in the letter itself: Uganda's URSB has no public company search tool accessible from this desk.
