They represent different layers
SAMRO says it administers performing rights on behalf of music composers, authors and publishers. SAMPRA says it administers needletime rights on behalf of recording artists and record labels.
Opening the edition12%
South African culture, documented in motion.
Concerts SA’s Music Cities Award is bigger than an international accolade. It is recognition of the invisible systems, routes, venues and relationships that make live music possible.
The Ekurhuleni Music Workshop 2026 treated music as more than performance. It placed rights, royalties, distribution, media visibility, marketing and sustainability directly in the hands of emerging creators.
SAMRO and Music Business Lab’s graduation of 50 music entrepreneurs is a reminder that South African music’s future is not only built in studios and on stages. It is also built through publishing knowledge, rights management and business education.
Africa Rising Music Conference 2026 matters because it focuses on the systems behind the sound: publishing, technology, cross-border collaboration, artist protection, and the infrastructure African music needs to survive global attention.
South African music is travelling across the world, but visibility is not the same as wealth. The next battle is ownership, paperwork, publishing and making sure creators keep a fair share of the money.