SAMRO distributes more royalties, reports strong 2022

The collection management organisation (CMO) recently held an annual general meeting where it revealed its financial performance for fiscal year 2022. SAMRO chairperson Nicholas Maweni said the CMO’s investment income increased by more than R10m and royalties distributed were up by 7.6% to R253m compared to R235.2m in 2021.

“At the same time, SAMRO’s costs were also significantly lower this year, declining by 8.1% or R12.8m,” he said. “Its cost to income ratio decreased from 29.3% in 2021 to 25.9% in 2022, which is also significantly down from 40% four years ago. This is mainly due to tight cost control and more efficient processes.”

This after SAMRO communicated in 2019 new measures for better financial management and cost saving, including a reduction in temporary staff. 

Maweni added that SAMRO saw an increase in broadcast revenue of R25.9m. “During the period, the organisation also saw an increase in the total amount available for distribution. This increased from R338.7m in 2021 to R452.3m in 2022. The increase, as noted above, is directly attributable to improved revenue and reduced costs, which ultimately translates into more earnings being distributed to the organisation’s members,” he said.

While operating in a challenging economic environment, with inflation reaching a 12-year high of 7.6% in South Africa, SAMRO said it succeeded in reducing the threat of escalating bad debts by improving collections in 2022. In 2021, the organisation earned R17m from foreign usage, which contributed to increased revenue. In 2022, SAMRO budgeted R20m but achieved R24.5m, and this year it expects substantially higher revenues due to an increase in digital revenues.

“As SAMRO continues to build revenue towards its ambitious goal of attaining R1bn by 2025, we will continue to look at extracting more revenue from digital platforms, government departments and city municipalities, schools and previously unlicensed sectors like the transport industry, while continuing to improve the broadcast, general licensing and live industries collections,” Maweni said, adding that SAMRO is looking forward to collecting royalties for its members in 2023, and that it is committed to ensuring that the vestiges of the COVID-19 pandemic do not hinder the organisation’s efforts to strengthen the local industry and support local musicians.

“SAMRO’s composers, authors, lyricists and publishers can rest assured that SAMRO is a proactive and innovative organisation that is always looking for new ways to protect their interests and ensure that they are compensated accurately for their work,” Maweni said.