The fee is R100 for Composers and Authors and R500 for Publishers. Current SAMRO Members are exempt from paying the fee. To apply, submit the SAMRO Member Application form, Notification of Works form, Deed of Assignment form, and a copy of your ID.Music creators (song writers, composers and publishers) are entitled to royalties every time their music is used in licensed establishments such as live music venues, radio and television, pubs, shopping malls, cinemas and more.
The role of SAMRO is to license these establishments and ensure that members are fairly compensated for the usage of their music and are acting within the confines of the law.
Music creators are people who make the amazing, moving, thoughtful, powerful musical works that SAMRO vigilantly administers.The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) will, for the first time, introduce a once-off application fee for musicians who wish to join the organisation, this application fee is not applicable to current SAMRO members.
The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) will, for the first time, introduce a once-off application fee for musicians who wish to join the organisation, which will be used to cover the administration costs of processing new membership applications. This application fee is not applicable to current SAMRO members.
The non-refundable application fee for first-time applicants will be R100 for composers and authors and R500 for publishers and will come into effect from 01 June 2023.
Over the past few years, SAMRO experienced a significant increase in the number of new member applications. In 2018 alone, SAMRO received 10,000 new applications.
Over the years that followed, the organisation experienced even more growth, with an average of 20,000 registrations per year.
“We have seen a spike in applications, which places additional pressure on the organisation and existing members who have to carry the costs of this influx of new members. The organisation’s resources, both time and money, directed at processing and registering new members, represents a considerable opportunity cost to existing SAMRO members,” says SAMRO CEO Annebell Lebethe.
“The once-off fee is nominal, and it will alleviate the burden from current SAMRO members. We are not attempting to dissuade musicians from becoming members but rather fulfilling our duty to guarantee that our existing members receive the most benefit and efficient service from SAMRO,” says Lebethe.
SAMRO is an organisation that administers the Performing Rights on behalf of its Members, who are music composers, authors, and publishers and currently represents 170,217 Members. Of these, only 24,183 (14%) are earning Members, who are Associate and Full Members, meaning that 14% of our Members are inadvertently covering the administration costs of processing new member applications. Lebethe says that while it is not unusual for membership-based organisations to charge some type of registration or application fee, the move is also a measure in response to members’ requests for SAMRO to reduce its operating costs and thus maximise value for them. The organisation is committed to enhancing members’ service levels, creating additional value, and upholding fairness, integrity, and inclusivity principles in all its operations.
We protect your intellectual property.
Our members have exclusive access to various benefits.
We ensure that the value of your music is recognised.
We actively promote the value of copyright.Music piracy stunts careers, stifles talent and eats away at the ability of composers and recording artists to continue making the great music that is the soundtrack to our lives.
Music piracy also takes bread off the tables of the thousands of people who work in music-related fields – from authors and composers of musical works, recording artists, to record company employees, studio producers, sound engineers and music retailers.