SoundExchange’s worldwide creator advocacy leads to landmark policy change
WASHINGTON, D.C.— November 18, 2024 — SoundExchange and the South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRA) today jointly announced a reciprocal agreement that will see United States and South African performers paid royalties for the use of their recordings in the United States and South Africa, respectively. This agreement is a result of SoundExchange’s efforts to ensure American creators are treated the same as their South African counterparts in the country. It marks the first time U.S. performers will be paid neighboring rights when their music is used in South Africa.
SoundExchange is the largest neighboring rights collective in the world, collecting royalties on their behalf of more than 470,000 creators through more than 65 agreements with counterpart organizations outside of the U.S., covering 88% of the global neighboring rights market. The company actively advocates throughout the world to strengthen existing agreements and to forge new agreements to prevent the diversion of royalties due to U.S. performers.
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 (referred to as “neighboring rights”) 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, backup singers, etc.), who will also see South African royalties deposited into the Fund administered by The American Federation of Musicians (AFM) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). This is similar to how, in its U.S. collections, SoundExchange distributes 5% of collected royalties to non-featured artists through the Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, 45% to featured artists, and 50% to rights owners.
“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 U.S. performers.”
“The conclusion of this reciprocal agreement demonstrates SAMPRA’s commitment to properly administer neighboring rights in South Africa. With this agreement, we now have reciprocal agreements with all major neighboring rights CMOs across the globe” said Pfanani Lishivha, CEO of SAMPRA.
“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 organizations 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 SAG-AFTRA & AFM Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund.
About SAMPRA
SAMPRA is a non-profit organization that was formed to administer neighboring rights on behalf of recording artists and record companies jointly. Over 75,000 South African recording artists and 11,000 record companies are members of SAMPRA. Through the SAMPRA Development Fund, SAMPRA offers recording artists funding for live events, music production, travel and touring, education, training, and development. Funding is also available to cultural organizations that seek to use music to promote heritage and cultural diversity. Bursaries are also made available for members that want to study for formal qualifications that will enhance their skills and knowledge base. Visit sampra.org.za and samprafund.co.za for more information.
About The Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund
The AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund (“the Fund”) is a 501c(6) not-for-profit organization jointly formed by AFM & SAG-AFTRA in 1998 to collect and distribute performance royalties for non-featured performers. In addition to distributing Section 114 sound recording royalties, the Fund is designated by AFM and SAG-AFTRA to collect and distribute royalties internationally on behalf of their non-featured artist members. The Fund is the sole U.S. organization responsible for distributing digital performance royalties to non-featured artists and has paid over $650 million to more than 140,000 performers since inception. Visit afmsagaftrafund.org for more information.
About SoundExchange
SoundExchange is the premier music tech organization on a mission to power the future of music. It was independently formed in 2003 to build a fairer, simpler, and more efficient music industry through technology, data, and advocacy. The only organization designated by the U.S. government to administer the Section 114 sound recording license, SoundExchange collects and distributes digital performance royalties on behalf of 700,000 music creators and growing. Through proprietary music tech solutions that turn data into accurate revenue, SoundExchange has paid more than $11 billion in distributions to date. For more information, visit soundexchange.com.