Beat Bulletin June 2013

Dear SAMRO Music Creators

This month we are immensely proud to announce the winners in the first ever WAWELA Music Awards, proudly brought to you by SAMRO. These winners are SAMRO members who, as the isiZulu word “wawela” suggests, have “gone beyond” expectations and have achieved great things with their compositions at local and international level.

Since it’s vital to constantly be on the lookout for ways to make your music work for you, we also take a look at the potential benefits that technology – specifically, music streaming services such as the local website simfy Africa – can offer music creators. And we hear from a music blogger why it is so important for musicians to be business savvy.

Plus, we profile jazz songstress Auriol Hays in this month’s newsletter.

Would you like to be profiled in a future newsletter? Do you have any news that may be of interest?

Please contact us at online@samro.org.za – we look forward to your comments and ideas for possible inclusion in The Beat Bulletin.

Enjoy!

Yours in music,

Tiyani Maluleke

General Manager: Marketing

SAMRO

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AS WELL AS YOU KNOW YOUR ART

CHEKA Digital hip-hop columnist and blogger Siphiwe Zwane – whose “everyday life” is as an Apple and Microsoft technician – outlines why it is so important for musicians to acquaint themselves with the business of music.

Music isn’t a sport – lives depend on it and musicians are breadwinners. So, why don’t we always equip ourselves with the necessary tools for self-empowerment?

We don’t only need to know how to write a verse, rap or make a snare [drum backbeat] with the latest edition of Pro Tools – we also need to know the business side of things.

The first thing to do is to get familiar with industry procedures. Know the channels to follow to ensure you take care of your intellectual property. SAMRO is one of the entities that ensure that you receive what is due to you when your music is used.

We’ve all heard about some record executives ripping off musicians, and the first thought is: “Didn’t the artist know his rights?” You got into music for your own reasons: love, talent, money, etc – now make sure that it pays what’s due to you. Don’t let the glitz of it all blind you. When you perform, know what your cut is from the performance fee. If you’re featured on a soundtrack in whatever capacity, know how much you are owed and go through the correct channels to get it. If someone samples your beat, exercise your rights: radio plays of your song mean that a percentage of [licensing fees] is due to you.

Make sure that you fully understand record deals, royalties and a dozen other industry terms in relation to your art. Find out the difference between leasing and selling, and get to understand the different types of rights your musical work is entitled to. Ensure you know all of this and more – because this is your livelihood, your art and your money.

•Check out CHEKA Digital – an online magazine focusing on youth and street culture – at http://chekadigital.co.za

MEMBER PROFILE: AURIOL HAYS

Jazz darling, SA Music Awards nominee and diva divine Auriol Hays approaches her life and her music career with a disarming honesty and candour. Her soulful notes and lyrical intensity permeate both her albums and her live performances, drawing a devoted audience back time and again.

And she is just as straightforward when it comes to the business of music: “In this industry, it is in your best interests to know your rights and obligations,” she says.

“People often assume that because you are famous, you are doing well. But musicians struggle; your income is never guaranteed. I am a single mother and I have nothing to fall back on. I have made a conscious choice to be a musician and I make sure that I earn as much as I can and am entitled to.”

Hays says that many get flummoxed by the business end of music and one of her keys to success has been, through luck, providence and intent, to surround herself with the right people in the industry.

“If you don’t understand something, make a point of asking – it is in your best interests. You need to take care of the business end, so that you can enjoy music,” says Hays adamantly.

Whether she is working with a venue, a record producer or a fellow musician, she always ensures that everything is in order, licences are in place, contracts are written and everything is signed and sealed before they start. “That way,” she says, “everyone knows where they stand and it doesn’t lead to hassles and complications afterwards.”

At the moment Hays has a few projects on the go, including a show at the Baxter Theatre, a music video and plans for an overseas tour later in the year. She is also working on her third album and admits to finding it harder going than the previous one. Call it Love – Anima Sola was an emotionally intimate album that chronicled her relationship sorrows. Now she says she is no longer in that space and there is no personal torment reflected in the tracks. “It will be a very different album with different influences and material.”

• Visit www.auriolhays.com to find out more.

LICENSEE PROFILE: SIMFY AFRICA

For too long, it’s been difficult for South African music lovers to stream music from the internet. But since simfy Africa was launched in August 2012, local users have listened to millions of tracks and created over 75 000 playlists – and SAMRO members are set to benefit, too.

For a nominal monthly subscription fee (currently R60, with no contract required), users have access to some 20 million songs for online streaming, with more being added every month.

A partnership between South African digital content company eXactmobile and European streaming provider simfy, this user-friendly streaming portal offers music lovers an extensive library of local and international music, which is accessible around the clock from your desktop computer, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Now, simfy has improved its offering and released a set of updated mobile applications. Users can now enjoy a faster, more intelligent search, better graphics, faster loading of streaming tracks and more control over data usage.

This new streaming service potentially means additional revenue for music creators. Simfy Africa is licensed with SAMRO and invites musicians to upload and share their original works via its portal. As soon as contracts are signed, music can be digitised and loaded on to the site for sharing and download.

Explains Xolani Zulu, Mechanical Rights Accounts Executive at SAMRO: “Digital music is driven by consumer choice and instant gratification. Globally, revenue generated through streaming has for the first time surpassed both MP3 downloads and CD sales. This shift signifies yet another evolution in music consumption trends.”

Zulu points out that “simfy Africa is well positioned to fulfill the need [for an online music streaming service] in Africa. For a monthly subscription fee, it offers a large and diverse catalogue, literally giving its users a track for every mood. Streaming is instant, and you don’t have to commit to any track as you would with a permanent download.”

•Register for a free two-week trial and start streaming at www.simfyafrica.com, and you can find a full guide to the new apps at http://next.simfyafrica.com. Email music@simfyafrica.com for more information about licensing original tracks.

TECHNOLOGY: FRIEND OR FOE OF ORIGINAL MUSIC?

The times they are a-changin’… and nowhere more rapidly than in the music industry. SAMRO’s Xolani Zulu, Accounts Executive for Mechanical Rights, shares his insights on how technology presents music creators with more opportunities than threats.

Technology knows no borders. Take IT and infuse it with music… you are guaranteed a lifestyle so big, it created the Gangnam Style and now the Harlem Shake phenomena.

We all remember the bad old days when technology was viewed with great suspicion and paranoia by the music industry. Some of those fears carried weight. But this is new era and the music industry fortunately has legal and copyright systems in its corner of the ring.

Last year, the UK High Court ruled that internet service providers must censor file-sharing site the Pirate Bay. Search engines like www.google.co.uk are finally joining the fight against piracy by, for example, down-ranking such websites in their search results.

As a result, the music industry continues to ride the technology wave across cultures, classes and income levels. Music consumption is higher than ever. The momentum is driven by consumer demand, according to the recent Digital Music Report 2013, published by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

According to the report, technology in the form of digital music piracy is the greatest single enemy of the music industry. But in marketing circles, they call it “conversion” when threats or risks are turned into opportunities. Streaming is one of the tools being successfully used by the music industry to turn the threat of technology into revenue-generating opportunities.

Music streaming is as good for consumers as it is for music creators and for the industry as a whole. In Sweden, for example, sales of recorded music – which had long been stagnant or in decline – grew by almost 14% in 2012, and by 7% in Norway. This growth can be directly attributed to positive developments in the licensing and regulation of music streaming services.

Video streaming is the most popular form of streaming. On YouTube, for example, 90% of the most popular videos are music related. Satisfaction with legal digital music services, including internet radio, sits at 77% globally. This is a compelling customer satisfaction rating, achieved by what many thought was a failing industry.

Audio or video streaming can take many forms. Webcasts, podcasts and on-demand streaming are just some of the better-known music streaming services available. Each of these – and other related uses – is licensed by SAMRO.

•Contact Xolani Zulu at xolani.zulu@samro.org.za for more information on online music licensing and royalties. The IFPI report is available for download at www.ifpi.org.

FIRST WAWELA MUSIC AWARDS GIVE THUMBS-UP TO COMPOSERS

Original music was the big winner at the inaugural Wawela Music Awards on Friday night, at which the shining lights of South African songwriting were celebrated.

On Friday, 28 June 2013, a constellation of the country’s music stars gathered at the Sandton Convention Centre to pay tribute to an elite group of music composers and authors whose work has made a significant impact locally and abroad.

Presented by Gareth Cliff and Azania Mosaka, the event aptly illustrated the power wielded by creators of original, homegrown music as guests were entertained by the eclectic sounds of The Soil, Phuzekhemisi and Koos Kombuis, with one of the highlights of the evening being an electrifying duet between Dorothy Masuku and Nhlanhla Nciza from Mafikizolo.

The isiZulu word “Wawela” means “to go beyond”, and this SAMRO initiative was launched to give credit to local music creators who have achieved excellence in their craft across various platforms, including composing for film, radio and television. The awards ceremony – the first of its kind in the country dedicated to honouring composers – saw the industry uniting to applaud the leading lights, trailblazers and unsung heroes of the South African music scene.

The Standard Awards were open to SAMRO members, who were required to submit entries accompanied by motivations. The major winner on the night was Kgomotso Mashigo, also known as jazzy-pop songstress Black Porcelain, who walked off with two awards: for Best Creative Album and Best Female Artist and Composer.

The sublime Lira was crowned Songwriter of the Year, while Tumi and the Volume were named South African Best Duo or Group. The multi-talented self-taught musician Daniel Baron took home the trophy for Best Male Artist and Composer.

Other winners were celebrated composer Philip Miller, whose score for the film Leaving Father was voted Best Soundtrack in a Feature Film or Theatric Documentary, and former Via Afrika vocalist René Veldsman, whose music for the Shoprite advert was judged Best Song or Composition in a Radio Commercial.

Composer and sound designer Gregory Reveret took home the Wawela Music Award for Best Song or Composition in a Television Production, for Loxion Kulca Roots, while Jeramy James Barnard bagged top honours for best song or composition in a television commercial for his work on the Bells advert.

The judging panel, comprising respected names drawn from the industry, also handed out a number of Special Awards on the night. Among these were Inaugural Recognition Awards that honoured the immense contribution made by South Africans whose groundbreaking work has enriched the reputation of the local music industry.

The five awards went to Los Angeles-based film and television score composer and production music library pioneer Alan Lazar, who made his name in South Africa as a member of Mango Groove; world-renowned writer, composer and producer Mbongeni Ngema, whose Sarafina! musical took Broadway by storm; keyboard player, composer, producer, and studio and record label owner Sizwe Zako, who has taken local gospel music to dizzying heights; Golden Globe-nominated film music composer Trevor Jones, who went from District Six to the bright lights of Hollywood thanks to his twin passions for cinema and music; and Lebo M, the celebrated singer, songwriter, composer and musician whose music for The Lion King scooped a Grammy.

Jones also scooped the Breaking Through the Borders Award. JB Arthur, a South African Music Award- and Emmy Award-winning composer, musical arranger and producer, was rewarded for his international success with the Statistical Award for Broadcast and Live performances.

The Lifetime Achievement Award went to the evergreen Dorothy Masuku, a pioneering force in Southern African music who continues to perform, enchant and inspire. And Johnny Clegg, one of the country’s most beloved musical sons who has sown the seeds of South African music around the world while producing work of a consistently high calibre, received the Prolific Catalogue of Works Award.

THE 2013 WAWELA MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS

Best soundtrack in a feature film or theatric documentary:

Philip Miller for Leaving Father

Best song or composition in a television production:

Gregory Reveret for Loxion Kulca Roots

Best song or composition in a television commercial:

Jeramy James Barnard for the Bells commercial

Best song or composition in a radio commercial:

Rene Veldsman for the Shoprite commercial

Best creative album of the year:

Black Porcelain for Invincible Summer

Songwriter of the year:

LIRA

Best South African duo/group:

Tumi and the Volume

Best female artist & composer/co-composer:

Black Porcelain

Best male artist & composer/co-composer:

Daniel Baron

Statistical Award

JB Arthur

Wawela Inaugural Recognition Awards

-Alan Lazar

-Mbongeni Ngema

-Lebo M

-Trevor Jones

-Sizwe Zako

Breaking Through the Borders Award

Trevor Jones

Prolific Catalogue of Works Award

Johnny Clegg

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dorothy Masuku

For more information on the WAWELA Music Awards:

Website: www. wawelamusicawards.co.za

Email: info@wawela.co.za

Twitter: @WawelaMusic

Facebook: www.facebook.com/WawelaMusicAwards

Tel: 011 712 8505

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