Day November 2, 2019

Article Highlights Controversies Around the South African Music Rights Organization

Struan Douglas has a recent article in Noseweek arguing that the South African Music Rights Organization (SAMRO) needs to operate under more transparency, and to be more closely regulated. He notes a "huge income inequality gap between top and bottom royalty earners", and reports that 95 out of its 595 top royalty earners were "music publishers, most of whom were found to have been deregistered or nonexistent." Douglas also reports that SAMRO has been charging license fees for public domain works.