TikTok has agreed a multi-year licensing agreement with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO).
The deal ensures that the 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 had over 290 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 the Angolan-based Fenómenos do Semba dance group. The #Jerusalema challenge videos have been viewed over one billion times and helped the track achieve international recognition and chart success in Europe and the United States.
With the increasing spotlight on African music, more African songwriters are poised to reach global superstar status
Wiseman Qinani Ngubo
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".
Wiseman Qinani Ngubo (pictured), CAPASSO chief operations officer, said: “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.
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