Deal sheet
- Status
- MADAGASCAR'S COPYRIGHT DECREE CALLS OMDA ADMINISTRATIVELY AND FINANCIALLY AUTONOMOUS. THE MINISTRY'S OWN DIRECTOR OF CULTURE CHAIRED ITS BOARD FOR FOUR AND A HALF YEARS.
OMDA (Office Malgache du Droit d'Auteur), Madagascar's sole copyright collecting society, is defined by its own founding decree, No. 98-434 of 16 June 1998 (issued under Law No. 94-036 of 18 September 1995 on literary and artistic property), as a public body with "legal personality and administrative and financial autonomy," supervised only technically and financially by the state. From at least 10 February 2022 to 6 August 2026, the person chairing OMDA's governing board was Francis Razafiarison, known publicly as Francis Turbo, who in a 10 February 2022 press interview identified himself in the same sentence as Président du Conseil d'Administration of OMDA and Directeur Général de la Culture at the Ministry of Communication and Culture, the ministry the decree says supervises OMDA. Razafiarison was succeeded as OMDA board chair on 6 August 2026 by artist and ethnomusicologist Jimmy Hilarion Rakotonavory, elected for a renewable three-year term under Article 8 of the 1998 decree.
The chairmanship overlap sits inside a longer pattern of leadership reversals at OMDA. Haja Ranjarivo, OMDA's director for roughly two decades, was first removed by ministerial decree in November 2015 over alleged embezzlement he denied; the Council of Ministers cancelled that removal and reinstated him in November 2016. He was dismissed a second time on 2 February 2022, when the Council of Ministers abrogated his appointment decree after what the ministry, through Razafiarison, called an internal audit finding "une mauvaise gestion." Each change in directorship coincided with royalty payments to OMDA's roughly 8,000-8,400 members being delayed or disputed: a January 2023 press conference by the Syndicat des artistes malgaches, represented by deputy-artist Paul Bert Rahasimanana ("Rossy") and member Dama, said songwriters had received no royalties "depuis plus d'un an" and demanded payment of all withheld rights.
Rossy, also a National Assembly deputy, filed a bill in June 2022 to amend OMDA's statutes and remove the ministry's power to intervene in its internal affairs. By 3 August 2023, that bill had passed the National Assembly but was still awaiting validation in the Senate, and the Ministry of Communication and Culture stated on its own Facebook page that "l'OMDA reste sous la responsabilité du MCC" (OMDA remains under the ministry's responsibility) until the law was validated. No source checked for this record confirms the bill was ever validated by the Senate or came into force in that form.
On 12 April 2023, the Council of Ministers appointed Joelinirina Nomenasoa Rarivojaona, previously OMDA's head of collections, as director, ending the acute standoff; Rossy publicly welcomed the appointment. Under Rarivojaona, OMDA published a 2024 royalty-distribution calendar disclosing a flat deduction of 6 percent of gross box-office receipts on paid shows. No source checked states how or when Rarivojaona's tenure ended. On 8 December 2025, the Council of Ministers appointed Ranjarivo director a third time, nearly four years after his second dismissal; the handover took effect 10 December 2025. Ranjarivo told the press by phone that he "had not personally envisaged returning to the post" but accepted "with humility," and said the move followed "artistes' own requests to the new minister."
Two outlets disagree, without either resolving it, on the sequence around that reappointment. NewsMada reported that Ranjarivo's reinstatement came five days after OMDA's "statut révisé" (revised statute) was adopted, implying the statute came first. L'Express de Madagascar's own account instead frames the statute's revision as something carried out under his renewed direction, implying it followed his return. Neither outlet names a decree number, publishes the statute's text, or states what specifically it changes. This record states that contradiction rather than adopting either sequence as fact, and could not establish which came first or what the revision altered.
As of 6 August 2026, nearly eight months after Ranjarivo's reinstatement, newly elected board chair Jimmy Hilarion Rakotonavory told press that "le problème, c'est la loi qui encadre l'argent des artistes" (the problem is the law that governs artists' money), and said he wanted to find ways to grow OMDA's income and improve transparency over how its funds are spent, approval of expenses included. No source checked states that the funding or distribution problems first raised publicly in 2022 and 2023 have been resolved.
- Type
- Licensing
- Parties
- Office Malgache du Droit d’Auteur
- Amount
- MGA Not disclosed. OMDA's own published 2024 distribution notice set a flat 6 percent deduction on gross box-office receipts for paid shows; no aggregate collection, arrears or distribution total for any year was found in any source checked.
- Rights covered
- STATUTORY COLLECTING-SOCIETY GOVERNANCE AND LEADERSHIP RECORD ONLY. No master recording, composition or publishing right changes ownership, is licensed, administered or assigned under this record. This is a record of who has chaired and directed Madagascar's sole copyright collecting society, and when, not a rights transaction.
- Territory
- Madagascar
- Announced
- 2026-08-06
- Primary document
- Trade press
- Sources
- L'Express de Madagascar, "Francis Razafiarison: 'En 20 ans de léthargie, l'OMDA a besoin d'un nouveau souffle'", published 10 February 2022. Direct interview in which Razafiarison identifies himself as both Président du Conseil d'Administration of OMDA and Directeur Général de la Culture at the Ministry of Communication and Culture, and defends the 2 February 2022 dismissal of OMDA director Haja Ranjarivo. Fetched and read in full. · WIPO Lex, Decree No. 98-434 of 16 June 1998 (Madagascar), issued under Law No. 94-036 of 18 September 1995 on literary and artistic property. Sets OMDA's legal status as a public industrial/commercial body with its own legal personality and "autonomie administrative et financière," under the technical/administrative supervision of the Ministry of Communication and Culture and financial supervision of the Ministry of Finance; Art. 7-8 on Board composition and three-year renewable terms; Art. 11 on the Director appointed by decree in Council of Ministers. Fetched and read in full. · L'Express de Madagascar, "Droits d'auteur: Jimmy Hilarion veut rapprocher l'OMDA des artistes," published 13 August 2026 reporting a 6 August 2026 election. Confirms Jimmy Hilarion Rakotonavory elected OMDA board president on 6 August 2026 for a three-year term, succeeding Francis Turbo, and his direct quote "Le problème, c'est la loi qui encadre l'argent des artistes." Fetched and read in full. · allAfrica syndication of the same L'Express de Madagascar report on Jimmy Hilarion's election, corroborating the 6 August 2026 date, three-year term and succession of Francis Turbo. Fetched and read in full. · Moov.mg, report on Francis Alexandre Razafiarison, stage name Francis Turbo, appointed Directeur Général de la Culture at the Ministry of Communication and Culture by the Council of Ministers in February 2019. Independently confirms the Razafiarison/Francis Turbo identity and the ministry appointment date. Fetched and read in full. · Moov.mg, report on a 21 January 2023 press conference by the Syndicat des artistes malgaches (Rossy, Dama) demanding payment of royalties unpaid for "plus d'un an," disputing the interim OMDA director's legitimacy and ministry control of OMDA's website. Fetched and read in full. · Madagascar-Tribune, 23 January 2023, on renewed tension between the ministry and OMDA members ahead of a disputed 24 January 2023 general assembly; names dissidents Jaojoby, Samoela and Stéphanie, and reports the board mandate was said to have expired November 2022. Fetched and read in full. · Madagascar-Tribune, 8 June 2022, on deputy-artist Rossy's bill filed in the National Assembly to amend OMDA's statutes and remove ministry intervention in its internal affairs; quotes ministry DG Razafiarison calling it "welcome." Fetched and read in full. · L'Express de Madagascar, 3 August 2023, reporting the reform bill still awaiting Senate validation and the ministry's own statement that "l'OMDA reste sous la responsabilité du MCC" until validated; quotes Jaojaoby objecting to "l'intervention indue du ministère." Fetched and read in full. · Madagascar-Tribune, 13 April 2023, on the Council of Ministers' 12 April 2023 appointment of Joelinirina Nomenasoa Rarivojaona as OMDA director, ending the 2022-2023 standoff; Rossy's quoted approval; names unpaid royalties as the new director's first challenge. Fetched and read in full. · L'Express de Madagascar, January 2024, on OMDA's 2024 royalty-distribution calendar under Rarivojaona, disclosing a 6 percent deduction rate on gross box-office receipts for paid shows. Fetched and read in full. · NewsMada, 10 December 2025, reporting Haja Ranjarivo's reappointment as OMDA director and stating it came five days after adoption of OMDA's "statut révisé"; quotes Ranjarivo saying he "n'avais pas envisagé de revenir" but accepted "avec humilité," and that the move followed artists' requests to the new minister. Fetched and read in full. · 2424.mg, 10 December 2025, giving the fuller history of Ranjarivo's 2015 dismissal, November 2016 reinstatement, and 2 February 2022 second dismissal, quoting Razafiarison's 2022 "mauvaise gestion" statement; does not mention a revised statute, contradicting NewsMada's framing. Fetched and read in full. · allAfrica, 12 December 2025, interview with Ranjarivo on his plans for regional representatives and national coverage after his 10 December 2025 installation; no royalty payment status or amount given. Fetched and read in full.
Read this before citing: WHAT COULD NOT BE ESTABLISHED, STATED PLAINLY: (1) No source checked names a decree number, publishes the text, or precisely describes the content of the "statut révisé" referenced around December 2025; the two outlets that mention it (NewsMada, L'Express de Madagascar) disagree on whether it preceded or followed Ranjarivo's reappointment, and neither resolves it. (2) No source checked states whether Rossy's June 2022 autonomy bill, last confirmed still awaiting Senate validation as of 3 August 2023, was ever validated, rejected, or is the same instrument as the December 2025 "statut révisé." These may be the same reform or two different ones; this record does not assume either. (3) No source checked states how, when, or why Joelinirina Nomenasoa Rarivojaona's tenure as director ended before Ranjarivo's December 2025 reappointment; no resignation, dismissal or end-of-term announcement was found. (4) No aggregate royalty arrears figure, collection total, or distribution total for OMDA in any year was found in any source checked; the only disclosed rate is the 6 percent deduction OMDA itself published for 2024 paid-show distributions. (5) This record does not allege embezzlement, fraud or personal wrongdoing by any named individual. The 2015 and 2022 "mauvaise gestion" findings against Ranjarivo are reported here only as the ministry's own stated reasons, not as established fact; Ranjarivo denied the 2015 allegation, and no audit document itself was reviewed for this record. (6) This record is about who controls and chairs a statutory collecting society and who has held that office when; it is not an ownership, distribution or licensing claim over any specific musical work, master recording or publishing right, and should not be read as one.
