SA Music Licence

SA Music Licence in a nut shell

Since I do a lot of interesting Gadgets reviews on this blog, including music production ones. I saw it fit that one should visit Samro (South African Music Rights Organization)'s website to do a little digging about which Important information one can share with you guys. The following information I believe its very important that Artists, Producers and Music buyers as well as Consumers should know about. Please share this info with your friends/family members/colleagues as well as your community at large. 

SA Music Licence

Any venue, business or person that plays background, recorded, broadcast or live music in public, or that makes a copy of a musical work, must get a music usage licence from SAMRO. This includes businesses and people such as the following:

• Radio
• Television broadcasters
• Pubs
• Nightclubs
• Live music venues
• Restaurants
• Shopping malls
• Retail stores
• Cinemas
• Hairdressers
• Spaza shops
• Shebeens
• Car washes
• Mobile DJs
• Trains
• Minibus taxis
• Any other establishment that plays music in public
• Churches
• Schools
• Non-profit organisations
• Community-based organisations
• Concerts
• Music festivals
• Exhibitions
• Any public show that makes use of music

Types of Music User Licences

Do you want to know more about music licences? You’ve come to the right place! There’s a music licence for every occasion.

SAMRO offers two basic types of licences for Music Users to make use of the protected works of our members. They are Broadcasting and General Licensing.

Broadcasting Licences

The name says it all. SAMRO issues Broadcasting Licences to broadcasters such as TV and Radio broadcasters to enable them to broadcast music. The licence fees are calculated on an individual basis according to the size and nature of the broadcaster. The big players pay more than – say – a small community radio station. So it works out fairly in the end.

General Licensing

General Licensing covers every other type of Music User. That’s your clubs, bars, malls, restaurants, music venues and other establishments that play music. Again, we assess your licence fees fairly, according to the nature of your business using our knowledge and experience to arrive at the most appropriate fee structure.

In both cases, as a first step, a SAMRO consultant will visit your business and conduct a site inspection and an assessment of the nature of your operation. The consultant will take many things into account including the use of the music, the seating capacity and audience size that can be expected to benefit from the use of the music.

What happens to the licence fees I pay SAMRO?

Royalties gathered through licence fees are passed on to SAMRO Music Creators. Many people play a role in the creation of every piece of music. From songwriters and composers to recording artists and music publishers – they all play a role in creating the final musical product.

Thanks to SAMRO’s experience and the information we collect about the usage and value of every musical work, we are able to fairly calculate the royalties that are passed on to the different players. SAMRO deducts tax and levies an administrative fee on all royalties in return for managing the music rights of our members. We’re completely transparent about how our fees are managed and shared. 

Source: Samro www.samro.org.za. For more information regarding the South African Music Industry's Copyrights and Laws, visit their website.