SAMRO celebrates 50 years

12 Aug 2011

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) is celebrating its 50 years as Africa's foremost music rights administration society with a series of celebrations beginning at the end of August and continuing until next year.

A number of activities and programmes have been planned for this milestone, starting with the Moshito Music Conference and Exhibition, the SAMRO Overseas Scholarships Competition, a copyright media training workshop, the SAMRO/MES fundraising concert, the launch of a book tracking SAMRO's 50 years in the music industry, and a documentary to be flighted on the national broadcaster.

Next year sees SAMRO's 50th anniversary concert, as well as awards ceremonies to pay homage to staff and musicians who have helped sculpt the country's musical landscape.

In essence, this means that during the year celebrating SAMRO's half-century, a tribute will be paid to music legends and industry icons, and the organisation will cement its commitment to music education and industry development while extending its outreach and community upliftment activities.

"There may have been several social, political and technological shake-ups during those five decades, but the one thing that remains unaltered is our commitment to serving the interests of music and musicians in Southern Africa. Fifty years on, we are proud to stand tall as a globally respected music rights administration society with more than 10 000 members," commented Annette Emdon, chairman of the SAMRO board.

Going forward, SAMRO CEO Nick Motsatse said "We are excited to be repositioning SAMRO as a true 21st-century organisation. We have several progressive projects in the pipeline that will ensure it keeps up to speed with international technological developments and can continue competing as a bona fide player on the global music stage."

SAMRO held its first board meeting in December 1961, under the stewardship of the late Dr Gideon Roos, and opened its doors for business in January 1962. Since then, the organisation - and the music industry in general - has undergone many changes to bring it to where it is today.

For a full line-up of SAMRO's 50th anniversary celebrations and programme, go to www.samro.org.za.

Updated at 09.00am on 15 August 2011