Samro distributes over R33m of digital royalties
The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) has successfully distributed over R33m in royalties to its members for digital platforms in FY2024.
Photo by Techivation on Unsplash
This accomplishment underscores Samro’s continued commitment to ensuring that its members are properly compensated for the use of their musical works by digital platforms, such as Digital Service Providers (DSPs), Video on Demand (VoD) & User Generated Content (UGC) such as Apple, Spotify, Netflix, and TikTok.
Additionally, Samro has another distribution scheduled for June 2024, further enhancing its members' earnings potential.
In 2021, Samro inducted the collection of royalties from digital platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Netflix in response to the evolving technological landscape. This strategic advancement, made possible by licensing agreements, marked a fundamental step towards adapting SAMRO's licensing and royalty payment practices to the changing dynamics of the global digital landscape.
Samro's diligent research and documentation of compositions have significantly improved identification rates, which now averages 98%. This improvement has resulted in a successful royalty payment to members, including authors, composers, and publishers whose music was featured on these digital platforms.
"For Samro, every distribution of royalties is aimed at maximising earnings for our members, ensuring fair compensation for their musical works and ultimately enhancing their livelihoods. We acknowledged the challenges posed by unregistered music creators and unnotified musical works, which have hindered the accurate distribution of royalties in the past. In response to these challenges, we implemented operational tactics that leverage data from DSPs, VoD’s and tools such as auto-copyright tools and CISNET. These methods have significantly improved the accuracy and speed of royalty distribution, reducing the need for manual involvement and speeding up the paperwork process. The positive results of this implementation are evident in the MIT category's remarkable distribution, " said Samro.
The organisation remains steadfast in its commitment to advocating for the rights of music creators. It affirms that it will continue to find new ways to adapt to the constantly changing digital environment. This landmark distribution is not just an achievement; it's a promise for the future. It sets a new benchmark for upcoming efforts in royalty distribution, ensuring a future where musicians receive fair compensation for their creative work.
