Question NW3334 to the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture

Reply:

1. We have several Collective Management Organisations (CMOs) in South Africa, and all were established to represent their members on matters of management of their rights. The names of these CMOs are.

• 1. South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO), which collects royalties on behalf of composers and authors (music creators).
  2. South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRA) – collecting needle time royalties on behalf of recording artists and record labels.
  3. Recording Industry of South Africa (RISA) - collecting royalties for Audio Visual (RAV).
  4. Dramatic, Artistic and Literary Rights Organisation (DALRO) – responsible for licensing the use of published dramatic, artistic, and literary copyrighted works and distributing royalties.
  5. Composers, Authors, and Publishers Association (CAPASSO) – collecting mechanical rights on behalf of composers, authors, and music publishers.
  6. Association of Independent Record Companies (AIRCO) - collecting royalties for Audio Visual (RAV) on behalf of independent record companies; and
  7. Independent Music Performance Rights Association (IMPRA) – collecting needle time royalties for performers and independent record labels.

2. We do not have records or any information regarding cash holdings available for distribution to members that was made from the 1999 fiscal year up to and including the current fiscal year. You will appreciate that these organisations are independent structures reporting and/or accountable to their members in the main. Only two of these structures (SAMPRA and IMPRA) are required by the law to also account for the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) which is under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Competition. The current developments relating to the copyright amendment are proposing that all CMOs be accredited by the CIPC, and this process will allow all CMOs to account for the CIPC. We trust that this progressive Bill will be signed into law very soon.

Having said that, the customary practice is that unclaimed funds would normally be transferred into a separate account for a certain period normally for two or three years while searching for the rightful owners. The practice of holding undistributed money in a separate account until rightful owners come forward is a common global practice. If unclaimed, it is reallocated for distribution. The approach is designed to ensure that funds are safeguarded, and rightful recipients can claim what is owed to them. To simplify this, the approach is like the system adopted by the National Lottery, which is known for its transparent and fair distribution of unclaimed funds. In this regard, CMO organisations

can maintain accountability and avoid any misallocation or misuse of these resources. The system also provides a safety net for individuals or entities who may have overlooked or not yet claimed their entitlements.

3. Since taking office, I have engaged with various stakeholders, but notably, this has not extended to CMOs. The reason for this includes factors like the need for prioritisation of the stakeholder meetings given the demands on the ground and the fact that the government is already busy providing a comprehensive approach that will deal with royalty collection and distribution by amending the Copyright Act, a matter that has been welcomed by these CMOs and their respective members. Nevertheless, I acknowledge the importance of dialogues with CMOs and remain open to future engagements especially when unattended matters surface.

THANK YOU