US recording artists will receive neighboring rights royalties from South Africa for the first time following a reciprocal agreement between SoundExchange and the South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRA).
The deal, announced Monday (November 18), applies retroactively to the 2022 distribution period. The two parties said the deal ensures that performers from both countries will be compensated when their music is played in either nation.
“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 scope of the deal extends beyond featured artists to include studio musicians and backup singers through the involvement of the AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund.
The deal with SAMPRA mirrors SoundExchange’s existing US royalty distribution model, where 45% goes to featured artists, 50% to rights owners, and 5% to non-featured artists through the Fund.
SAMPRA CEO Pfanani Lishivha said: “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.”
The South African organization represents over 75,000 recording artists and 11,000 record companies domestically, offering additional support through its Development Fund for live events, music production, touring, and education.
Meanwhile, SoundExchange manages royalty collections for more than 470,000 creators through over 65 international agreements, covering 88% of the global neighboring rights market.
Stefanie Taub, CEO of AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund, said, “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.”
The development comes nearly two months after SoundExchange announced plans to launch a registry for rightsholders to…
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