It’s undeniable that social media app TikTok is responsible for blowing up many of the hits we’re hearing on radio today. Record labels have embraced the platform as one that can make a track an instant hit. The social media app has many deals in place to help artists get compensated for their music and now, in a new deal with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) and the Composers Authors and Publishers Association (Capasso), local musicians are set to score big as well.
Samro and Capasso represent the rights of thousands of music creators in SA and across Africa, and this deal aims to ensure the artists will receive royalty payments whenever their songs are used to accompany the short videos shared on TikTok.
African music continues to be a big hit on the platform as the product grows bigger by the day in Mzansi. For example, videos tagged #Amapiano, for example, received 181 million views last year. This deal will make sure that local artists are paid for being the soundtrack to millions of videos.
“As a social music platform, TikTok has revolutionised how we engage and consume music,” said Capasso COO Wiseman Ngubo. “TikTok allows fans to co-create, contextualise and reinterpret their favourite songs alongside their favourite artists and this drives engagement and a deeper appreciation of songs in an era when music consumption is increasingly divorced from context.
He adds “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.”
