MEMBERSHIP TIERS
Membership Tiers
SAMRO has a three-tier membership structure: Prospective Members, Associate Members,
and Full Members.
As a Music Creator, you need to meet a few requirements before SAMRO can approve your application for membership
Membership Tiers
To become a member of SAMRO as a music creator, there are certain requirements that need to be met before your application can be approved.
Initially, you will be classified as an 'Applicant' until you have fulfilled all the necessary criteria and are then considered a 'Prospective Member'.
Prospective Members
You are a "Prospective" Member if your application was approved and you've received confirmation that you are now classified as a Prospective Member.
Associate Members
You are an Associate Member if your notified musical works earn at least R100 (One Hundred Rands) in royalties if you are a composer or author or R1000 (One Thousand Rands) if you are a publisher within the preceding three years.
Full Members
You become a full member once you've gained enough points as an Associate Member to qualify for Full membership. As a full member, you are eligible to be elected as a board member.
Read more about the point system
Prospective Members
After your application has been approved, you will be assigned a unique reference number and receive confirmation that you have been classified as a 'Prospective Member'.
Your classification as a Prospective Member does not mean you have attained membership yet. You are a prospect until your notified musical works earn at least R100 (One Hundred Rand) in royalties within the preceding three years.
The names of composers, authors and publishers of musical works who have met the outlined membership criteria will be forwarded to the SAMRO Board of Directors for election to move to the next member tier. Those who have been successfully elected will be notified by email.
Being a Prospective Member means the following;
Your SAMRO membership is not yet active
Your musical works have not earned at least R100 (One Hundred Rand) within the preceding 3 (three) years to participate in any royalty distributions
You are not eligible to attend or participate in the Annual General Meeting (AGM)
You are not yet eligible for the SAMRO Funeral Benefit and SAMRO Retirement Annuity Fund
Associate Members
Authors and Composers
To become an Associate Member, your notified musical works must have earned at least R100 (One Hundred Rand) in royalties within the preceding three years.
Publishers
The same requirements apply for Publishers. To be eligible for membership, your musical works must have generated at least R1000 (One Thousand Rand) in royalties within the past three years.
Your rights as an Associate Member:
You participate fully in royalty distributions
As a SAMRO Associate Member, you can expect to receive the annual Directors and Financial reports, as well as regular correspondence from us
As a SAMRO member, you have the right to attend and vote at General Meetings. However, please note that you are not eligible to be elected as a SAMRO Board Member
As a SAMRO member, you will be entitled to one vote on a show of hands or, on a poll, one vote for every rand of South African Royalties earned from works of South African origin in the previous distribution period, subject to a maximum of 2% of the total votes
As a composer and author, you are eligible for the SAMRO Funeral Benefit and Retirement Annuity Fund. Please note that this benefit is not applicable to publishers
Full Members
Associate Members can be promoted to Full Members based on a point system that takes into account the contributions of both the composer/author and publisher.
Click the button below to access the document that outlines the point system used in the member promotion process:
Your rights as a Full Member:
You participate fully in royalty distributions;
You will receive the SAMRO Directors and Financial reports each year as well as regular correspondence;
You will have one vote on a show of hands or, on a poll one vote for every rand of South African Royalties earned attributable to works of South African origin in the immediately preceding distribution, subject to a maximum of 2% of the total votes;
You qualify for the SAMRO Funeral Benefit and SAMRO Retirement Annuity Fund if you are a composer and author, and this benefit does not apply to publishers.
You are eligible to be elected as a SAMRO Board member.