SAMRO appoints new chairman of Board of Directors
The South African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) recently announced the appointment of the reverend Abe Sibiya as the new chairman of its board of directors, at a recent SAMRO Board meeting, after incumbent Annette Emdon stepped down from the position.
Abe Sibiya
Sibiya is a composer, producer, publisher, multi-instrumentalist and broadcasting executive, who is also the chief executive of the Urban Rhythm Factory music publishing and audio production house. He is also the pastor and founder of the Zoe Bible Church in Ivory Park, Johannesburg, South Africa and has written songs for Yvonne Chaka Chaka, Deborah Fraser, Dorothy Masuku and Chicco.
Passing of the leadership baton
In accepting the chairmanship, Sibiya, who has served as a SAMRO board member since 2010, quoted John Maxwell's words about a great leader's courage to fulfil his vision coming from passion, not position.
"I subscribe to this insight and look at the task at hand with a mixture of emotions, part of which is the realisation of the enormity of the task, having to take over from a capable, wise and knowledgeable [predecessor] who has served this organisation in a sterling way.
"Ms Emdon, your mission was always clear, your vision greater than all of us and your passion for the task always unquestionable and for that, I salute you."
Emdon served as SAMRO chairman for 15 years, since 1997. She held the reins during the tenure of two CEOs, Rob Hooijer and current chief executive Nick Motsatse, whom she praised as "men of great calibre".
New ways of thinking
Motsatse said that Sibiya would bring a different dynamic to the position, taking over as he did at a time when the business environment in which SAMRO operated was evolving.
"He is young, agile and adaptable, and very much aware of global trends. We look forward to his firm but calm and steady hand in helping steer SAMRO through a new transition - that of the conversion of its corporate form - and beyond."
Sibiya pledged to build on the efficiencies instituted by the current leadership, particularly as the industry moved into a new digital age that required new ways of thinking and operating.
"We have been entrusted with so much, and much is expected of us. We must always remember that nothing has changed in the business of music: songs are still king, the melody rules and music lives forever. But the world is not what it used to be.
"As heavy and as bad as it might have looked in the recent years when the music industry was shaken through loss of sales, I submit that these are the best of times," he said, quoting Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities.
For more, go to www.samro.org.za
