Controversy Erupts Over Alleged Non-Payment To Malta Eurovision Semi-Finalists
The Opposition party is alleging that Malta’s Public Broadcasting Services (PBS) has failed to pay Eurovision artists who did not make it to the final the promised sum of €300.
In a statement signed by PN MPs Claudette Buttigieg and Julie Zahra, both former Malta Eurovision winners, the party claimed that the PBS has still not paid some of the semi-finalists who participated in the Malta Eurovision Song Contest (MESC) back in October/November 2023, despite being “contractually obliged to do so”, as per the MESC rules issued in 2023.
PBS denied these claims, stating that these payments had indeed been disbursed in a timely manner.
However, earlier today, the Nationalist Party issued yet another statement rebutting PBS’ response, where they insisted that some of the contestants who made it to the semi-finals, reaching the top 36, have still not been paid.
“The PBS has evidently dishonoured the contract with these individuals, which promised to pay them a sum of €300 each,” the statement read.
“The PBS’ management should fulfill its duty immediately, and rather than waste its time issuing vexatious statements, it should focus on providing the best possible service when it comes to public broadcasting by being balanced and just, while ensuring that it treats all artists with the utmost respect and honesty.”
Lovin Malta reached out to Julie Zahra, who revealed that some contestants divulged to her that they had not been paid what was due.
“These weren’t just one or two people,” Zahra said, admitting that she cannot disclose the identity of these artists out of fear that they “could potentially be blacklisted”.
She told the newsroom that “after the question I posed Minister Owen Bonnici was published, an email was sent to the semi-finalists asking for their invoice. Up until 12pm today, the contestants I checked in with did not receive any payment”.
Zahra also clarified that these were the contestants who made it up to the semi-final phase, and not the finalists who made it to the top 12, as these were given a sum of €5,000 to shoot their music video.
On 25th March, Arts Minister Owner Bonnici replied to Zahra’s Parliamentary Question which read as follows: “Can the Minister reveal when the contestants who did not make it to the top 12 will be getting paid the promised €300?”
Bonnici’s response was “PBS has informed me that all the relevant and necessary details were taken down in order for the payment to be processed according to the normal procedures. Naturally, if there were some individuals who have not provided these relevant details yet, they will be paid once these details are provided. “
According to the MESC Regulations Square, “monetary grants” should have been given accordingly: €5,000 for each of the 12 individual finalist songs for the production of their music video, and €300 to the remaining semi-finalists.
“These monetary grants will be handed out to the submitting artist,” the regulations stated.
The competition comprised both a semi-final and a final stage. During the semi-final phase, nine performances were featured in each of the four weekly episodes of the TV show XOW, spanning from 27th October to 17th November 2023.
Do you think that the PN is right in its allegations? If you are an artist who went through a similar situation, you can reach out to us in confidence by sending an email to [email protected]
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