More than three years after the passing of gospel legend Dr Deborah Fraser, members of her family say they have not received a cent in royalties from her music.
Deborah’s son, Nkosana Fraser, told Sunday World that the family has been left both financially strained and emotionally frustrated, accusing Universal Music South Africa of poor communication and withholding information about his late mother’s earnings.
“We’ve never received my mom’s royalties, and we are struggling. What makes things worse is that Universal Music is not communicating with us. We’ve tried to reach out to them, but we are not getting any response,” Nkosana said.
Sunday World has seen emails from Deborah’s family to Universal Music enquiring about financial statements and royalties.
Financial statements
According to Nkosana, the family, accompanied by Deborah’s former manager Nontando Mafisa, visited Universal Music’s offices in 2023 seeking clarity on royalty payments, financial statements, and access to the full catalogue of Deborah’s recordings.
“We were told that our mother owed Universal Music two albums. Fortunately, before she passed, she had completed a 12-track album that had not been released at the time of her death,” he said.
He added that Universal Music later split the album into two separate releases, with only one half being released in 2023.
“The second half of the album was never released, and there was no explanation for that,” Nkosana said.
The family also claimed that Universal Music has failed to provide royalty or financial statements, which would detail the late singer’s posthumous earnings.
“We should be getting financial statements from Universal Music to see our mother’s earnings, but we are not getting anything. This is frustrating and painful.”
Mafisa confirmed that a meeting with Universal Music representatives did take place but said that there has not been any follow-up communication.
Financial exploitation
Deborah, who passed away in May 2022 after a long illness, remains one of South Africa’s most celebrated gospel voices.
Her career, which spanned more than three decades, produced numerous chart-topping albums such as Abanye Bayombona, Ngikuxolele, and Udlalile Ngabantu.
Despite her immense success, Deborah had spoken publicly about the financial exploitation of musicians and the lack of industry safeguards for artists’ intellectual property challenges that appear to persist even after her death.
Her family’s ongoing battle reflects a broader problem in South Africa’s music business, where outdated recording contracts, poor royalty tracking systems, and weak regulatory oversight continue to disadvantage artists and their heirs.
Universal Music South Africa ignored repeated requests for comment. The story will be updated once the company has responded.
