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The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), is a
copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
asset management society. It was established by the South African Copyright Act, and aims to protect the intellectual property of music creators by
licensing A license (American English) or licence ( Commonwealth English) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another par ...
music users, collecting licence fees and distributing
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
to music creators. SAMRO represents more than 15,000 Southern African
music composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...
s, lyricists/authors and music publishers. The organisation administers
performing rights Performing rights are the right to perform music in public. It is part of copyright law and demands payment to the music's composer/lyricist and publisher (with the royalties generally split 50/50 between the two). Performances are considered "pu ...
.


History

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (name since 1974) was formed in December 1961 under the chairmanship of Dr. Gideon Roos Senior, a former Director-General of the
South African Broadcasting Corporation The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations (Amplitude modulation, AM/Frequency modulation, FM) as well as 6 television broadcasts and 3 OTT Services to the general ...
(SABC). SAMRO began operations in January 1962 with 40 South African composers and 13 music publishers, taking over from the UK royalty collecting society
PRS PRS or prs may refer to: Science and technology * Peripheral Reflex System, an implementation of autonomous peripheral operations in microcontrollers * Personal response system, in audience response * Phenotypic response surfaces, in medicine * P ...
. In June 1962, SAMRO was accepted as a member of the
International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...
(CISAC). In the same year, Strike Vilakazi, the composer of the anti-apartheid song '' Meadowlands'' became the first black member of SAMRO. On 1 May 2013, SAMRO converted from a
company limited by guarantee A company limited by guarantee (CLG) is a type of company where the liability of members in the event the company is wound up is limited to a (typically very small) amount listed in the company's articles or constitution. Most have no share ca ...
(a corporate form no longer supported by the Companies Act 71 of 2008) to a
non profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
company, and now operates under the name of Southern African Music Rights Organisation NPC. In March 2014, SAMRO announced the transfer of its mechanical rights licensing operation to CAPASSO (Composers Authors and Publishers Association), as recommended by the 2012 Copyright Review Commission Report.


Awards

From 2008 until at least 2020, SAMRO sponsored the Lifetime Achievement Award in Music, in the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) Awards. Past winners have included
Johnny Clegg Jonathan Paul Clegg, (7 June 195316 July 2019) was a South African musician, singer-songwriter, dancer, anthropologist and Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist. He first performed as part of a duo - ''Johnny & Sipho'' - ...
and
Caiphus Semenya Caiphus Semenya (born 19 August 1939) is a South African composer and musician. He was born in Alexandra, Gauteng, Johannesburg, South Africa. He left South Africa for Los Angeles, California, United States, in the 1960s, together with his wif ...
. In 2012, SAMRO commemorated its 50th anniversary with a series of events, including the Builders' Awards, which recognised musicians, staff members and others who had contributed to the organisation over the years. David "Strike" Vilakazi, Princess Constance Magogo Ka Dinizulu Buthelezi, Mzilikazi Khumalo,
Dorothy Masuka Dorothy Masuka (3 September 1935 – 23 February 2019) was a Zimbabwe-born South African jazz singer. Music career Masuka's music was popular in South Africa throughout the 1950s, but when her songs became more serious, the government began que ...
, and SAMRO founder Gideon Roos Snr were all recipients of the awards. In 2013, SAMRO launched the Wawela Music Awards to pay tribute to South African composers who have made a significant contribution on the international and local music scene.
Mbongeni Ngema Mbongeni Ngema (10 May 1955 – 27 December 2023) was a South African playwright, lyricist, composer, director, choreographer, and theatre producer, best known for co-writing the 1981 play '' Woza Albert!'' and co-writing (with Hugh Masekela) t ...
won the inaugural Recognition Award. It appears that the last awards were given in 2015. SAMRO continues to sponsor the "SAMRO Highest Airplay Composer Award" at the
South African Music Awards The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in ...
.


Global affiliations

SAMRO has reciprocal agreements with 225 collecting societies in 150 countries allowing it to collect music royalties on behalf of its members around the world. SAMRO is a member of the
Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs The International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (, ''CISAC'') is an international non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation that aims to protect the rights and promote the interests of creators worldwide. It advocates for ...
(CISAC). SAMRO is involved in CISAC initiatives in Africa, including projects affiliated with the
World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...
(WIPO), and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
). SAMRO is also accredited with
BIEM The Bureau International de l'Edition Mécanique (BIEM), also known as Bureau International des Sociétés Gérant les Droits d'Enregistrement et de Reproduction Mécanique, is an organisation coordinating statutory licence agreements among diffe ...
, an organisation co-ordinating statutory license agreements among different countries. SAMRO is associated with industry trade fairs and music showcases such as MIDEM in France and the World Music Expo (
WOMEX WOMEX (short for Worldwide Music Expo) is an international world music support and development project based in Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany ...
), as well as with bodies such as the South African Music Export Council (SAMEX).


Controversies

In 2019 the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) sued a number of former executives for unlawful enrichment. According to the lawsuit, the members of the leadership of SAMRO overpaid themselves by more than R1.6 Million rand.
Sipho Mabuse Sipho Cecil Peter Mabuse (born 2 November 1951), known professionally as Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, is a South African singer-songwriter. Mabuse grew up in Soweto. His mother was Zulu people, Zulu and his father was Tswana people, Tswana. Sipho a ...
,
Sibongile Khumalo Sibongile Khumalo (24 September 1957 – 28 January 2021) was a South African singer and songwriter. She sang Classical music, classical, jazz, opera and traditional Music of South Africa, South African music. She was noted for singing at the in ...
, Loyiso Bala,
Arthur Mafokate Arthur Mafokate (born 10 July 1969) is a South African kwaito musician and producer. In 1994, he released his debut album, ''Windy Windy'', which included the hit "Amagents Ayaphanda". He became known as the "King of Kwaito" with many hit singl ...
, Relebogile Mabotja,
Gabi Le Roux Gabriel Le Roux is a South African keyboardist, composer and music producer. Trained as a classical and jazz keyboardist, he has produced List of music recording certifications, platinum rock and Afrikaans music records, but he is best known for pr ...
, Jack Jeremiah Mnisi, Rowlin Naicker, Jordaan Niemand,
John Edmond John Edmond (born 18 November 1936) is a Rhodesian folk singer and retired soldier who became popular in the 1970s for his Rhodesian patriotic songs. He reached the height of his fame during the Rhodesian Bush War where he was sometimes known ...
and Jeanne Zaidel-Rudolph were alleged to be implicated in the irregular expenditure. SAMRO would later become the centre of a scandal regarding the underpayment of royalties to artists, much of this taking place during this leadership's time working for the organisation. In 2023, a SAMRO-sanctioned forensic investigation, run by Funduzi Forensic Services, discovered fraud by certain members. The audit noted gross irregularities, including allegations of fraudulent claims by former employees . In 2025, SAMRO announced that these dubious claims amounted to R3.4 million.https://www.news24.com/citypress/news/forensic-probe-uncovers-r34m-of-dubious-payouts-by-corrupt-samro-staff-20250119


See also

*
Copyright collective A copyright collective (also known as a copyright society, copyright collecting agency, licensing agency or copyright collecting society or collective management organization) is a non-governmental body created by copyright law or private agreeme ...
* Copyright law of South Africa *
Performance rights organisation A performance rights organisation (PRO), also known as a performing rights society, provides intermediary functions, particularly collection of royalties, between copyright holders and parties who wish to use copyrighted works ''publicly'' in lo ...


References


External links

* {{Authority control Music industry associations Organisations based in Johannesburg Music organisations based in South Africa 1961 establishments in South Africa Organizations established in 1961