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SABC to pay airplay royalties for the first time

Kaizer Kganyago
Reading Time: 2 minutes

For the very first time, the SABC will pay needle time or airplay royalties to songwriters and performing artists.

The payment will be for songs played by the public broadcaster across its 18 radio stations for the period 2014/15.

The debt on royalties to musicians accumulated while the public broadcaster was caught up in financial crises.

SABC spokesperson, Kaizer Kganyago says there are two types of payments, “We have been paying the composers through SAMRO. But today, the historic news is that for the first time, we are paying what we call needle time, which is airplay, or music we play on our platforms.”

“This has never happened before that we pay, because there have been negotiations and court cases. The payment is for the financial years 2014/15 – that we have just given to Independent Music Performance Rights Association (IMPRA),” he says.

MPRA President, Dodo Monamodi, says its role will be to ensure that royalties are paid out accordingly.

“We found that most of the royalties were being handed over to the producers, with the thinking that the producers were then paying the artists, which wasn’t the case. This is why we came together to register IMPRA to represent the performers and the producers in making sure there is equity, and an equal sharing of the royalties,” says Monamodi.

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