The South African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) is gripped by a deepening crisis as divisions within its board spill into the public arena.
At the heart of the dispute are the findings of the long-awaited Fundudzi Forensic Report and ongoing disputes around the distribution of royalties to composers, authors, and publishers.
On Monday, prominent composer and Samro board member Gabi le Roux openly criticised his colleagues for reinstating three publishing representatives who had previously been removed by members during an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in July.
Le Roux further asserted the existence of a plot to remove him from the board.
“On Thursday, September 11, there will be a board meeting where we’ll be deliberating the removal of five people, whether they should stay or be removed from the board.
“The original proposal came from us when we, as the composers, asked for the removal of the chairs of the social, ethics and governance committee, Dr Sibongile Vilakazi and Veronica Motloutsi.
“Subsequently, there was retaliation from Vilakazi for my removal. She believes I colluded with the suspended COO [chief operations officer], Mpho Mofikoe,” Le Roux told Sunday World.
Suspension of royalty distributions
Le Roux alleged that independent board members were “capturing” Samro and called for their removal, claiming they added no value to the organisation.
“The division between us as composers and the independent board is clear as daylight. We want transparency, and the other board members don’t want it. That is why we have written to Samro’s board requesting another EGM,” he said.
Backing the composers’ request was the United Composers’ Society in Action, which wrote to Samro demanding the suspension of royalty distributions relating to undocumented works, as well as a freeze on board fees, salary increases, and payments to service providers until the Fundudzi report is released to members.
The strongly worded letter warns that continued refusal to release the report “exacerbates an already highly volatile situation” and threatens direct action if Samro fails to comply.
“Should you ignore our demands like you usually do and/or fail to respond within the next three days, we will not hesitate to begin a campaign to lobby South African music users, starting with the SABC, to halt all payments to Samro with immediate effect,” the letter reads.
Dissolution of the board
It further accuses the executive of colluding with “the notorious four so-called independent directors” and misusing the threat of Samro’s collapse to silence members’ concerns.
This crisis follows the dramatic July 10 EGM, where Samro members voted to remove the three publishers amid anger over allegations in the Fundudzi report.
That decision has since been overturned, and the publishers reinstated, a move that has fuelled further distrust and frustration among composers and authors.
Members are now advocating for the removal of all independent board members or the dissolution of the entire board.
With Thursday’s board meeting looming, the showdown between composers and independent board members is set to intensify, raising fears that the governance crisis at Samro could spill over into a full-blown collapse of the institution entrusted with safeguarding South African music creators’ livelihoods.
Samro was asked about the ongoing conflict on Friday, but no response was received by publication.
