SoundExchange and the South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRA) have struck a reciprocal agreement.
The partnership will see US and SA performers paid royalties for the use of their recordings in the United States and South Africa, respectively. It marks the first time that US performers will be paid neighbouring rights when their music is used in South Africa.
SoundExchange is the largest neighbouring rights collective in the world, collecting royalties for more than 470,000 creators through more than 65 agreements with organisations outside of the US.
Retroactive to the 2022 distribution period, the multi-lateral agreement between SoundExchange and SAMPRA will benefit performers from both countries whose music is played in a variety of applications in the United States and in South Africa.
The agreement, which also includes the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, will also benefit non-featured artists (studio musicians, back-up singers, etc).
“The successful execution of this agreement is directly tied to the advocacy SoundExchange demonstrates around the world on behalf of the creators we represent,” said Michael Huppe, president and CEO of SoundExchange. “I am pleased that our case for fairly paying creators for their work resonated so deeply with SAMPRA and has resulted in a significant step forward for US performers.”
“The conclusion of this reciprocal agreement demonstrates SAMPRA’s commitment to properly administer neighbouring rights in South Africa,” said Pfanani Lishivha, CEO of SAMPRA. “With this agreement, we now have reciprocal agreements with all major neighbouring rights CMOs across the globe.”
“As the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Fund continues our work to expand global collections on behalf of non-featured artists, we are gratified to add our newest partner, SAMPRA, to the many other international organisations the Fund collaborates with to ensure that non-featured artists are fairly compensated for their contributions to the music landscape,” said Stefanie Taub, CEO of AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund.
FOLLOW 
