The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) distributed over R33 million in royalties to its members on digital platforms in FY2024.
In a statement, the organisation says this underscores SAMRO’s continued commitment to ensuring 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) and user-generated content on Spotify, Netflix and TikTok.
SAMRO has another distribution scheduled for June, further enhancing its members' earnings potential, says the organisation.
In 2021, SAMRO inducted the collection of royalties from digital platforms like TikTok, Facebook and Netflix in response to the evolving technological landscape.
It explains 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.
According to the industry body, SAMRO’s research and documentation of compositions have significantly improved identification rates, which now averages 98%.
This improvement resulted in a successful royalty payment to members, including authors, composers and publishers whose music was featured on these digital platforms, it explains.
“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,” says SAMRO.
“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, VODs and tools such as auto-copyright tools and CIS-Net.
According to the organisation, these methods have significantly improved the accuracy and speed of royalty distribution, reducing the need for manual involvement and speeding up the paperwork process.
SAMRO says it remains steadfast in its commitment to advocating for the rights of music creators and 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,” it concludes.
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