SAMPRA takes on SABC, IMPRA over needletime payout

The SABC, which regulates 18 radio stations, last week announced that it would pay out about R22m ($1.7m) in needletime royalties for the 2014-15 period. This after it was reported last year that the SABC owed artists millions in needletime royalties. SAMPRA and IMPRA were owed more than R52m since March 2014.

Minister of Communications Ayanda Dlodlo said during a parliamentary Q&A session last year that the reason for non-payment to SAMPRA and IMPRA was because “both societies have not agreed on the percentage split of the amount based on the play history reports SABC has generated”.

The SABC announced last week that the R22m would be split 75:25, with IMPRA receiving the greater portion of the payment.

SAMPRA now says the split is unfair and inversely proportional to IMPRA’s repertoire of less than 10% played on SABC radio stations.

“We have, on more than one occasion, presented documentation to prove to the SABC that we own more than 90% of the repertoire. The SABC has purposefully ignored this information and decided that they will pay 75% of the royalties to IMPRA instead of at least 90% of the royalties to SAMPRA,” SAMPRA CEO Pfanani Lishivha said in statement.

SAMPRA also questioned the SABC's decision to go ahead with the payment while there was an ongoing dispute.

“The SABC has created the impression that SAMPRA doesn’t want to be paid by the SABC or has delayed payment. This is incorrect. We argued that payments should be made in accordance with the legislation and playlists,” Lishivha said.

“All the playlists indicate that we own at least 93% of the songs that the SABC and other commercial radio stations have been playing. Why then has IMPRA, which owns less than 10% of all songs broadcast in this country, been given the bulk of the payments due to our artists?”

Yesterday, SAMPRA sent a letter on behalf of Lishivha to its members accusing IMPRA of attempting to poach its members.

"Some of you [SAMPRA members] have made us aware of the fact that you’ve been contacted by IMPRA urging you to apply for membership. This is a desperate act by IMPRA to gain you as members, since they have already claimed to be representing you. The SABC also knew that they were donating artists’ royalties to the wrong organisation. Now that there’s a huge backlash against their shenanigans, they want you to help them get out of the mess they find themselves in," the letter reads.  

In an emotive five-page response, IMPRA accused Lishivha of peddling lies.

“What SAMPRA isn’t stating in its statement is that it collected needletime royalties from the retailers well knowing that a portion of those belong to our members. This fact has now been confirmed in the engagement we had with some of the retailers in the past few months,” IMPRA said.

"As for its statement that it represents 93% of the market, that number from our perspective is a moving target. At some point it was sitting at 85% and then it moved to 90%. Now it seems to be vacillating between 90% and 93%. However, assuming that there is a percentage of the industry that do not belong to SAMPRA as members, it begs the question why is the remaining amount not paid over to IMPRA as it is not in dispute? We are so bold as to state that the only reason it remains unpaid is that SAMPRA harbours a subliminal wish to see the obliteration of IMPRA."

SAMPRA has now said it will take the SABC royalty matter to the courts.