Like a ship that has lost its moorings, award-winning singer Ami Faku has launched, in court papers, an attack tinged with xenophobic connotations against her manager Raphael Benza, over royalties.
Faku, full name Amanda Faku, has dragged Benza, a Liberian national, to the Johannesburg High Court, seeking an order to force him to disclose his accounting books and to remit payments of her royalties.
Faku also wants an order to declare that the artist agreement, management agreement and publishing agreement she signed with Benza and his stable, Vth Season, who are second and first respondents respectively, have terminated by effluxion of time and no longer have legal efficacy.
“I am a black South African female music artist. I draw to the attention of this honourable court that I refer to my gender and my colour for the reason that the second respondent (who is a foreign national from Liberia) has a propensity to see out potentially successful young black female music artists and to entice them into a contractual relationship with either himself or with the first respondent to their detriment and to the first and second respondents’ financial gain,” she stated in the court papers.
Advancing her argument, Faku, whose album, Imali took the industry by storm, said Benza, who was slain rapper AKA’s manager, approached her and asked to manage her work in 2018.
She said when she signed the three contracts with Benza, who was previously deported to his native country for living in South Africa illegally, she was still wet behind the ears and naïve, and the stable took advantage of her. Faku said Benza and his stable did not give her an opportunity to consult with an attorney before signing the contracts.
The Asibe Happy hitmaker said the artist agreement was for 12 months and had expired in September 2019.
The first option period, being 18 months in terms of a clause, which was automatically invoked, she said, expired on March 23, 2021. The second option period, also 18 months, expired on September 22, 2023.
“As such, in terms of the said agreement, the artist agreement terminated with the effluxion of time on at least 23 September 2023. As such, the artist agreement has come to an end,” she stated in the court papers.
Faku said during the currency of the agreement, she composed Imali.
In terms of the agreement, Faku said, she was supposed to receive, among others, 50% of net income received by the stable from the licensing of recordings to third parties for synchronisation with picture for motion pictures (including theatrical, broadcast, cable or satellite and home video) uses, among others.
She said she was entitled to receive 50% of all public performance royalties.
“The company shall keep accurate books of account reflecting the number of records sold and new media rights exploited and income received in terms of this agreement or in terms of any agreement with any third party and shall provide the artist with a statement of the royalties
payable to the artist together with payment of any such amounts due to the artist half yearly each year.
“As I explained, the first respondent is in breach of clause 9.1 of the agreement and has failed to render an account to me as provided for in that clause. It instead elected to dump on me by way of Dropbox files, hundreds of pages of discombobulated documents, which are incomplete and not accurate,” she stated.
In the premises, she said, her rights to receive an accounting from Benza and his stable and their duty to keep accurate books of account reflecting the number of records sold, new media rights exploited and income received in terms of the agreement for the purpose of paying royalties to her, has not been forthcoming.
“The dumping of documents by way of files on a computer platform was not in accordance with the ingredients of such accounting procedure contemplated by clause 9.1 of the artist agreement,” she said.
Faku also said although the stable owns the master of Imali in terms, she has in fact paid more than R400 000 for its production costs from her own pocket and as such she owns it.
“It is respectfully submitted that the first respondent’s claim to ownership of the master of the album Imali can only have application if the first respondent paid for the production costs of that album. For the purpose of this application, I do not claim in these proceedings a declaration of ownership in the album known as Imali as such a claim is likely to be the subject matter of a declaratory order which I will seek in this honourable court in due course”.
She said Benza and his stable had no right to deduct the costs of producing the album from her royalties.
Faku said the publishing agreement was for a period of 10 years and unless breached it would terminate with the effluxion of time on February 16, 2028.
“As I explain, the first respondent breached the agreement, and as a result thereof, the agreement was cancelled in writing on the 25 March 2025,” she stated. This because she was supposed to receive 60% of all sums actually received by the publisher by virtue of the sale of lords in all formats for the mechanical copies of records, 60% of the publisher’s share of public performance royalties received, 60% of all monies resulting from licensing third parties to publish any compositions and 60% of all synchronisation fees among others.
She said the management agreement, which was for 24 months, stipulated that he should receive 20% for managing her.
“The respondent unilaterally took 30% of the management fee since 2018, which he should account for.”
She said the “initial period” of the agreement was a period of 24 months from 2018 and terminated on March 22, 2020.
She said it was extended for a period of 18 months and terminated with the effluxion of time by no later than March 2, 2023. The said management agreement no longer has any legal efficacy and has been terminated.
