The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) is unable to pay out more than R30m (about $2m) in pending royalties to about 6 500 of its members because of incorrect banking details. 

SAMRO is tasked with collecting royalties on behalf of its members, who are primarily music composers, authors and publishers.

“While SAMRO has the money, it can’t pay it over at this stage simply because the bank account details furnished by the affected members are outdated or incorrect in one form or another,” SAMRO CEO Mark Rosin said. “When payment is made, it bounces back and future payments will subsequently be stopped until the member details are corrected or updated.”

Members with outdated or incorrect banking details have been asked to update them. The collective management organisation has published a list with their names on its website and social media platforms.

Rosin says the money in question is for identified works, where the owner of the royalties is known to SAMRO, as opposed to the undocumented works, where the creator is unknown and such funds are then distributed through an established process.

The pending payments from the R30m range from R100 to R250 000 depending on the usage of the works. The members need to resubmit their banking details in order to receive their share of the money. Members who wish to check whether they are on the list can do so here(link is external).

“In total, there are about 6 500 members who have been asked to resubmit their bank account details. We would like to emphasise that only the members who appear on the list, which has been published on SAMRO’s website, need to check their banking details and resubmit accurate details,” Rosin said.

SAMRO says the appeal to its members forms part of its efforts to be a fair and transparent organisation. “SAMRO always strives to protect the rights of its members and ensure that they are compensated fairly for their work. We are here to ensure that artists can earn a decent living and receive the royalties that are rightfully due to them … This is part of SAMRO’s Notes for Notes campaign that has been designed to put more funds in the pockets of SAMRO members.”

source: musicinafrica.net