Artists taught how to reap the rewards of their creative work

Artists are unknowingly promoting their own poverty through the lack of knowledge of income generating streams of the industry.

This was said by veteran jazz maestro, Selaelo Selota, in a statement where implored musicians and artists to understand the money and business behind the billion rand music industry.

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He said this at the Intellectual Property Music Awareness Roadshow in Parkview organised by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and the City of Johannesburg’s Community Development Department in Heritage Week. According to his statement, the industry contributes more than R90 billion per year to the fiscus but the artists benefit nothing from it.

The aim of the roadshow was to make them aware of the importance of securing their income through copyright registration, registration for royalty distribution, legal protection of intellectual property, advice in contracting, sponsorships of market-ready crafters and, registration for SMME financial and non-financial support in communities.

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“It’s not so much about how good you sing. You can have the greatest voice, but if, as an artist, you don’t understand how much money is generated through your craft, then you are in trouble,” the statement read urging artists to understand and educate themselves about how collection societies collect money on their behalf.

Selota said he learnt early in his career how various societies collected royalties on behalf of artists. At the same occasion, Stanley Khoza from Airco, who represents the independent record companies, was shocked to hear that a majority of artists were unaware of the different types of royalties in the industry.

“The first person who exploits them are themselves because they don’t invest time in understanding the value chain in the music industry,” Khoza said.

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Francina Ntsimane of the Gauteng Department of Economic Development advised that it was the department’s responsibility to ensure that especially township artists have contacts with relevant stakeholders in the industry. “The black-owned industry must be protected and we must ensure that they reap the rewards of their creative work, but currently we are not there yet,” Ntsimane said.

She urged them to also influence various legislations currently before Parliament like the Performance Protection Bill and the Copyright Amendment Bill.

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