Nothando Migogo, chief executive of the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro), believes the industry needs a social security net for those musicians who die poor.
Some of these artists are big in their time, but they realise years later, when in retirement, that they have been swindled out of royalties. And there are many such cases.
Migogo says that, in this regard, Samro has embarked on a drive to educate musicians about the advantages and disadvantages of signing contracts to protect themselves from unscrupulous operators.
“For example, you’re as hot as you are when you’re big, but what happens after that? If you’re just a singer or a performer, Samro will never pay you.
“We are looking for ways to better impart information. So before you sign any contracts, when you become a member of Samro, make sure you understand how it works and come to the meetings.
“It’s a two-way responsibility: you have the responsibility to take that information at your fingertips to empower yourself.”
The 36-year-old, who has always been passionate about the arts and legal issues in the music business, says there are legacy issues that needed to be worked on at Samro.
“Most of what we’ve been dealing with are legacy issues. We’re in an age where we’re moving fast from a technology perspective. The music usage reporting is very different from 15, 20 years ago.
“Have we evolved quickly enough as an industry to keep up with the people who use music?”
Migogo says efficiency and accountability are values important to her and she also instils them in her team.
“I instil in my team that we have to be accountable, we have to be responsive because we are such a big player.
“It’s the biggest collective management organisation on the continent. That’s why people look to us. I feel we could be doing more of that. I respect creativity and artists so much. When you know you can’t do something, it makes you respect people who can.
“It’s a spiritual calling, in all our spaces. Whatever we’re doing has to feed into the greater good. I would love it if more music had that social activism aspect.”
One of the biggest challenges for Samro is transformation, Migogo says.
“How do we transform from the inside, which means bringing on new, young executives.
"Our new chief financial officer is a 34-year-old woman who is really dynamic. Our head of legal is also a young, black woman. I’m very excited about the team.
“When you’re dealing with legacy issues, it is so important to have new ideas and perspectives. That will help us make the sustainable changes we need.”
Prior to her appointment at Samro, Migogo was chief executive of the Composers, Authors and Publishers Association from 2013 to 2017.
During her time at the helm there, she doubled distribution growth and led crucial licensing breakthroughs. She was also the managing director of Dalro, a copyright management company, from 2010 to 2013.
She has served on numerous boards and presented on various platforms, including the trade show Midem Africa.
She has also been a guest lecturer for students training to join the creative industry.
@LesegoMakgatho