Licensed to Play August 2013

Dear Music Users

It is my privilege to address you as the new CEO of SAMRO, having taken over the reins from Nick Motsatse just two months ago. I would like to take this opportunity to wish Nick all the best in his new endeavors and to thank him for helping me ease into his chair so comfortably before he left at the end of July.

Speaking of all things new at SAMRO, we have recently opened a contact centre at Durban’s famous BAT Centre to serve our KwaZulu-Natal clients. We hope to be expanding into the rest of the country in due course and it’s in part thanks to you, the music user, that we are able to do this.

We profile songwriter and businesswoman Mynie Grové while in the same story we look at how the Shoprite Checkers group, with Grové’s guidance, is using music as a valuable tool to motivate staff.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate two very talented musicians, jazz pianist Bokani Dyer and Western Art Music pianist Jan Hugo, who are both winners of the SAMRO Foundation’s lucrative scholarships to study music overseas. Find out more about the competition in this newsletter.

And, finally, I have saved the most exciting news for last. To commemorate our 50-year anniversary, SAMRO was in the spotlight in a fascinating documentary titled Notes 2 Notes, which aired on SABC 1 on Sunday night, 1 September and the repeat was on 4 September 2013 at 14h30. Read all about it in this issue.

Enjoy!

Yours in music,

Sipho Dlamini

CEO: SAMRO

MUSIC HISTORY COMES TO LIFE IN SAMRO DOCUMENTARY

The who’s who of the South African music industry made for a fascinating new documentary about SAMRO, which was aired on SABC1 on Sunday, 1 September at 18h30 and was repeated on Wednesday, 4 September at 13h30. Titled Notes 2 Notes, the documentary was commissioned by SAMRO to commemorate its 50-year anniversary.

The 48-minute programme explores the company’s eventful history, from its modest beginnings in 1961 to the global Copyright Asset Management Society it is today. Seen through the eyes of major industry players, the documentary is presented in context with the development of contemporary music in the country.

“We wanted to not only pay homage to the roots of SAMRO as it reached its 50-year milestone, but also to highlight the people who played such a vital role in shaping it and setting its course during that time,” explains SAMRO CEO Sipho Dlamini.

Produced by the highly reputed and Emmy-Award winning local production house Rapid Blue, Notes 2 Notes presents a candid and meticulous account of SAMRO’s past and present.

“We specifically brought an independent production house of Rapid Blue’s caliber and stature on board because we were intent on the documentary being a warts-and-all account of SAMRO that didn’t gloss over any important details of the company’s history. So viewers will be getting the full story – and it’s truly an absorbing tale,” Tiyani Maluleke, SAMRO’s General Manager: Marketing, concludes.

Tune in to SABC1 at 13h30 this Wednesday, 4 September, to see music history come alive in Notes 2 Notes – the story of SAMRO.

LICENSING FOR TELEVISION

Commissioned to commemorate SAMRO’s 50-year anniversary, the fascinating new documentary, Notes 2 Notes, not only tells the SAMRO story, but tracks both the country’s political and musical context from which it grew, plus in making it for broadcast purposes it showcases how licensing comes into play.

Notes 2 Notes was produced by Emmy Award-winning local production house Rapid Blue and directed by Sara Blecher, with assistance from respected music guru Lloyd Ross. Rapid Blue, responsible for mainstream television shows, also boasts a reputation for fair and truthful documentary story-telling. With Notes 2 Notes featuring the music of many South African musicians, Rapid Blue needed to ensure that the rights for all of this music was correctly licensed and paid for.

In the documentary, SAMRO as the client, cleared permission and paid for the Mechanical Rights, which are compensated as royalties to the copyright owner (music composers, lyricists or publishers) when music is transferred from one format to another. Performance Rights, which are paid as royalties when the copyright owner’s musical creations are performed in public or on television, are usually covered by the blanket licenses that SAMRO has with television broadcasters.

Rapid Blue usually negotiates the rights with individual record companies as well as RiSA when it comes to using South African music. But, according to Kee-Leen Irvine, who is Managing Director and Executive Producer for Rapid Blue, with smaller local budgets these costs can often be prohibitive and unfortunately they then resort to using sound-alikes. For instance, in this season of Strictly Come Dancing, a live band is used and only the Mechanical Rights need to be cleared with NORM.

“With a long history in the TV arena, we as a company are absolutely pedantic about filling in the music cue sheets to ensure the musicians get paid their royalties,” says Irvine.

Music used in television shows or documentaries is negotiated in units of 30 seconds or part thereof. The title track is usually commissioned by the production company and a buy-out is either negotiated or the musician is paid royalties from the use of it.

The opening sequence of Notes 2 Notes, which won a Promox Gold for Best Graphic Design for an Opening Sequence, used some of Peter Klatzow’s music from I am an African. Klatzow’s work was also commissioned by SAMRO through the SAMRO Foundation for the 211 Overseas Schools and the lyrics come from Thabo Mbeki’s speech.

If you missed Notes 2 Notes on Sunday, be sure to catch it on SABC1, this Wednesday, 4 September at 13h30.

HOW THE SHOPRITE CHECKERS GROUP IS USING MUSIC AS A VALUABLE TOOL

Acclaimed singer and television personality Mynie Grové was composing music and playing the piano before she had even learnt to read, and is today forging a successful career that merges her aptitude for both music and business.

The talented youngster was a founding member of the Claude Larson Singers, which developed into the duo Mynie & Jan. German producer Larson taught her the basics of studio production, session work, music arrangement and music publishing. Eventually, Grové went solo and later signed with Moonshine Records to form her own music publishing company.

Over the years, the award-winning songstress has performed and recorded with musicians such as Ringo Madlingozi, Judith Sephuma, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Brenda Fassie, Anton Goosen, Nataniël and Karen Zoid. She has also shared the spotlight with international superstars like Gloria Estefan, Andy Gibb and Erasure. In addition, her Amagroove Youth Choir has performed with Josh Groban and Diana Ross, plus toured South Africa with Michael Bublé in 2007.

Believing that music remains a valuable commodity, she also manages a publishing catalogue of her own material, comprising some 450 songs and compositions.

“No industry in the world can operate without music. It is involved with everything,” says Grové. “Everybody these days has earphones plugged in, as well as smartphones and other devices, listening to music.”

The multi-talented songbird’s Amagroove Music provides a music service to corporates. It is this business sense that has served Grové well in her work with, among others, the Shoprite Checkers group, the biggest retailer in Africa who employs over 90 000 workers around the continent. In an innovative synergy between business and music, she offers Shoprite employees the opportunity to showcase their singing skills. Shoprite HR Director, Callie Burger says, “TOPSTARS is a fun way for workers to develop individually to become stronger team members.” Grové’s company offers competitions, prizes, coaching and motivational talks, using music as the focus.

“Music is the tool to build value in workers – everyone from management to the shelf-packer,” Grové explains. “We use singing, which is part of the cultural fabric of the African continent. We’ve all grown up with lullabies, hymns, traditional songs and anthems.”

Shoprite allows its workers time to attend these music sessions and events. They are then able to enter the competitions with their own recordings. Grové adds, “Shoprite realises that human equity in business is the most important thing. We want to help people realise their own potential and to believe in themselves. It’s also about having fun in a work environment. They get to see themselves in another light.”

•Check out http://myniegrove.wordpress.com.

SAMRO OPENS CONTACT CENTRE AT DURBAN’S BAT CENTRE

From 1 August 2013, SAMRO became even more available to music creators with the opening of a new contact centre in Durban and it’s in part thanks to our music users.

In an effort to make interaction with SAMRO easier for music creators, the organisation is opening up contact centres around the country.

The Executive General Manager for Rights Holder Services at SAMRO, Pfanani Lishivha, explains: “We want to have contact centres in all the provinces, as we have music creators throughout the country.”

SAMRO’s head office is based in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. This previously meant that if a musician wanted to become a member from anywhere else in South Africa they would have to make their way to the Jo’burg office, which was ultimately costly and slowed down their process.

And it’s thanks to the music users who consistently pay their license fees that SAMRO is able to expand into other South African territories, ultimately making it possible for musicians from all around the country to become members and receive the royalties they so deserve.

“SAMRO already has one working satellite centre in Thohoyandou, Limpopo, and the BAT Centre in Durban will be the second of this kind,” says Lishiva

The BAT Centre is a general base for the arts, including drama, visual arts and music, in KwaZulu-Natal. From 1 August, its staff was able to help musicians from the area with SAMRO-related queries as they have been trained to do so.

SAMRO is seeking out similar bases in other provinces with links to the arts world. “The BAT Centre in Durban is akin to the Newtown Precinct in Johannesburg,” explains Lishivha. “It’s a place of networking for the arts industry.”

For music creators living in regions of South Africa beyond Johannesburg, eventually it will become easier for them to deal with a local SAMRO office, where they will be able to collect forms and gain quick access to trained staff. “We are currently exploring opening centres in Polokwane and in Bloemfontein, to make processes simpler, easier and more efficient,” says Lishivha.

•The BAT Centre is located within the small Craft Harbour off Durban’s Victoria Embankment. Contact the centre at 031 332 0451.

NEVER SAY DYER FOR WINNING YOUNG JAZZ MAESTRO

It was second time lucky on Saturday for jazz pianist Bokani Dyer, who won a SAMRO Overseas Scholarship during the final round of the competition.

Capetonian Dyer (27), the recipient of the 2011 Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Jazz, had first entered the SAMRO competition for keyboard players four years ago but had to be content with the runner-up prize in the Jazz/Popular Music category in 2009.

He has clearly honed and perfected his skills on the keys since, and beat out stiff competition from fellow finalist and Capetonian Nicholas Williams (27) during a hard-fought contest at the SABC’s M1 studio in Auckland Park on Saturday, 31 August 2013.

Dyer, the son of South African jazz luminary Steve Dyer, clinched a lucrative R170 000 scholarship to fund his post-graduate music studies at an international educational institution. Williams walked off with R40 000 plus a R5 000 cheque for the best performance of a prescribed work and the SAMRO/Fisher Award of R6 500.

In the Western Art Music section, Bloemfontein-born pianist Jan Hugo (22), who is currently based in Italy, blew the judges away with his virtuoso performance of four piano works and was declared the winner of the R170 000 scholarship in that category.

However, he faced a stiff challenge from the mesmerising musician Megan-Geoffrey Prins (also 22). The youngster from Riversdale in the Cape claimed the runner-up prize of R40 000 and cleaned up the subsidiary prizes, claiming the SAMRO/Flink Study Award of R28 000, the R6 500 SAMRO/Fisher Award and the R5 000 prize for the best performance of a prescribed work.

The musical duel in the two categories played out in front of an appreciative audience, who were constantly kept guessing about who the winners would be thanks to the high calibre of performance. The four finalists were captivating, showing all-round excellence on the keys, while being put through their paces with a selection of works of their own choosing as well as prescribed compositions.

The four had made it to the finals of this prestigious annual competition after first being evaluated based on original recordings they had submitted to SAMRO, and then competing against 10 of their fellow pianists in the intermediate round, held at the same venue two days previously.

The evening’s entertainment opened with the Western Art Music category, which saw Hugo performing Mozart’s Sonata No. 14 in C minor, KV. 457: I Molto Allegro, Rachmaninoff’s Etude Tableau Op. 39, No. 3 in F-sharp minor, Bartók’s Klänge der Nacht and Die Jagd from Im Freien, as well as the prescribed work, klavierstuk 2 by the late South African composer and 1972 SAMRO scholarship winner Roelof Temmingh.

Prins followed with a performance of Haydn’s Sonata in E-flat major, Hob. 52: I. Allegro (Moderato), Chopin’s Étude No. 5 in E minor, Op. 25, Hamelin’s Étude No. 9 in F minor: La Danza from Twelve Études, and the Temmingh prescribed work.

Then it was the turn of the Jazz/Popular Music finalists, and Dyer kicked off with renditions of Bheki Mseleku’s Cycle, Thelonious Monk’s Trinkle, Tinkle, Hoagy Carmichael and Johnny Mercer’s Skylark and the prescribed piece, Carlo Mombelli’s Quick Study No. 2.

Williams opted to perform Charles Lloyd’s Forest Flower, H Schiller’s Grassy Park, Herbie Hancock’s Dolphin Dance and the Mombelli composition. Both candidates were accompanied by Victor Masondo on double bass and Rob Watson on drums.

Other prizes handed out on the night to promising candidates who had made it through to the intermediate round but not the finals, were the Jazz/Popular Music merit award of R10 000 that went to Durban’s Sibusiso Mashiloane (29) and the Western Art Music merit award also of R10 000 that was given to Daniel Strahilevitz (24), who is originally from Johannesburg but it currently based in Israel. The SAMRO/De Waal study award of R7 000 was secured by jazz candidate Lifa Arosi (24), who hails from Johannesburg.

The SAMRO Overseas Scholarships have been awarded every year to deserving candidates since 1962. Presented by the SAMRO Foundation, which promotes music education and development in the country, these coveted awards have launched and elevated many a young musician’s career over the years.

They rotate on a four-yearly basis among different music disciplines: the 2013 awards rewarded keyboard players, while the 2014 scholarships will focus on composers, the 2015 competition on singers and the 2016 awards on instrumentalists.

For more information, email the SAMRO Foundation on samrofoundation@samro.org.za, visit www.samrofoundation.org.za, or follow @SAMROFoundation on Twitter or Facebook.

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