How to register your music in South Africa: SAMRO, SAMPRA and CAPASSO explained

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) collects performing rights royalties. These are earned whenever a song you wrote is performed in public or broadcast — radio airplay, TV, live venues, streaming and more.

• Who should join: composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers.
• What it covers: the composition — the melody and lyrics — not the recording.
• What you need: your ID or passport, banking details, and details of the works you want to register (title, writers, and each writer's share).
• Cost: a once-off application fee applies for new members (R100 for composers and authors, R500 for publishers); SAMRO also deducts an administration fee from royalties it collects.

After joining, you must also notify each work — registering as a member alone doesn't register your songs. Every co-writer's share must be declared, which is why a signed split sheet per song matters.

The South African Music Performance Rights Association (SAMPRA) collects neighbouring rights (also called needletime) royalties. These are earned when a recording is played in public or broadcast — separate from the songwriting royalty.

• Who should join: recording artists and performers (session musicians included), and record labels / master owners.
• What it covers: the sound recording (the master), not the composition.
• What you need: your ID, banking details, and your recording details — track titles, ISRC codes, and the performers on each recording.
• Cost: membership is free; an administration fee is deducted from collected royalties.

If you wrote and performed on your own recordings, you likely need both SAMRO and SAMPRA — they pay for different rights on the same song.

The Composers, Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO) collects mechanical rights royalties. These are earned when your composition is reproduced — downloads, streams, CDs, and uses in film, TV and advertising.

• Who should join: composers, songwriters and publishers.
• What it covers: reproduction of the composition, including digital reproduction by streaming services.
• What you need: your ID, banking details, and your works list with writer shares and ISWC codes where available.

Mechanical royalties are the ones most often missed by independent creators — if your music is on streaming platforms and you're not registered, that income sits uncollected.

South African societies have reciprocal agreements with foreign societies, so your SAMRO membership can cover international performances of your compositions. Some creators also register directly with a US society such as ASCAP when their music gets significant American airplay or sync placements. If your catalog earns internationally, track both your local and international registrations — gaps between them are a common revenue leak.

1. Join SAMRO as a writer (and publisher, if you self-publish).
2. Join SAMPRA as a performer — and as a label if you own your masters.
3. Join CAPASSO for mechanical rights.
4. Register every work with each society — membership alone registers nothing.
5. Keep a signed split sheet for every song with co-writers.
6. Record your ISRC (per recording) and ISWC (per composition) codes.
7. Review your registrations at least once a year — catalogues drift out of date as you release new music.