SA artists, musicians to receive royalties from Tiktok
The deal ensures South African songwriters, composers and music publishers will receive royalty payments when their music is used on Tiktok.
(FILES) In this file illustration photo taken on April 13, 2020 the social media application logo of TikTok is displayed on the screen of an iPhone in Arlington, Virginia – TikTok, the social media platform that is all the rage with the world’s teens, could break away from its Chinese parent to evade a US ban, a top White House adviser said on July 16, 2020. “We haven’t made final decisions (on the ban) but as has been reported in some places, I think TikTok is going to pull out of the holding company which is China-run and operate as independent company,” White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told reporters. (Photo by Olivier DOULIERY / AFP)
TikTok has announced a multi-year licensing agreement with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO).
The deal ensures the talented songwriters, composers and music publishers the organisations represent will receive royalty payments when their music is used on the platform. Through CAPASSO’s existing partnerships, the agreement will cover 58 territories across the African continent, covering repertoire belonging to 21 separate collective management organisations. CAPASSO will administer the agreement on behalf of thousands of their members and affiliate members.
Music by African songwriters and performers is already proving popular on TikTok and has led to trends such as the electric dance genre #Amapiano, which exploded last year with over 181 million video views. The South-African track “Jerusalema“, a song by DJ and producer Master KG, featuring vocalist Nomcebo was a global TikTok sensation in 2020, following a choreographed dance routine by Angolan based Fenómenos do Semba dance group.
The #Jerusalema challenge videos have been viewed over 1 billion times and helped the track achieve international recognition and chart success in Europe and the United States.
Jordan Lowy, Head of Music Publishing Licensing and Partnerships at TikTok said: “TikTok is delighted to enter into this agreement with SAMRO and CAPASSO, ensuring that songwriters, composers and publishers across Africa can benefit when their music is used on TikTok. This is an exciting region for us with a huge pool of incredible talent, and we look forward to connecting them with our global audience”.
Adds Wiseman Ngubo, CAPASSO Chief Operations Officer, “We are happy to have reached an agreement with TikTok in order to ensure that pan African songwriters are taken care of on the platform. As a social music platform, TikTok has revolutionised how we engage and consume music.
TikTok allows fans to co-create, contextualise and re-interpret their favourite songs alongside their favourite artists and drives engagement and a deeper appreciation of songs in an era when music consumption is increasingly divorced from context. With the increasing spotlight on African music, more African songwriters are poised to reach global superstar status and TikTok will play a major role in showcasing their talents to the world.”
SAMRO and CAPASSO represent the rights of thousands of music creators across Africa. The organisations have been at the forefront of licensing some of the world’s most talented and well-known music creators since being established in 1961 and 2014, respectively.
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