SA: SAMPRA launches development fund

The SAMPRA Development Fund will also assist members with local and international travel, sponsorship, retirement annuity and funeral benefits.

“The main objective of the SAMPRA Development Fund is to create ongoing sustainable support for SAMPRA members in a manner that adds long-term value to their livelihood and careers,” SAMPRA chief stakeholder officer Tiyani Maluleke said.

“Our members are the most critical component of our business. As an organisation, we want to see them continue to succeed and create music. We want to see them grow and develop as individuals and as businesspeople. The fund enables us to support them beyond simply paying royalties.”

SAMPRA CEO Pfanani Lishivha said th association had partnered with higher learning institutions to offer its members opportunities to acquire the new skills.

“One of SAMPRA’s strategic objectives is the promotion of South African music locally and abroad,” Lishivha said. “In order for us to achieve this objective, we need to be part of enabling platforms that purposefully and intentionally make this possible."

Industry-related bodies can apply for sponsorship via the SAMPRA Development Fund official website.

"We will also be making an industry monetary contribution, in the form of a sponsorship, to music events such as awards, conferences and workshops to ensure that there is sustainable growth and impact in the industry in which we operate in,” Lishivha added.

Music director and producer Alexis Faku described the SAMPRA Development Fund as a game changer, while veteran singer Yvonne Chaka Chaka, who was elected vice-president at the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC) in June, said “the initiative couldn’t have come at a better time.”

The development fund is part of SAMPRA's corporate social investment mandate, which aims to contribute to the development and sustainability of the organisation's members. The fund’s vision is to promote the value of South African recorded music while providing SAMPRA members with strategic opportunities to stimulate their growth, development, sustainability and social awareness. Its intention is to do all the above while also contributing positively towards recording artists’ welfare and well-being, SAMPRA said.