TikTok has signed a multi-year licensing deal with the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) and Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO).
Through CAPASSO’s existing partnerships, the agreement will cover 58 territories across the African continent, covering repertoire belonging to 21 separate collective management organisations.
CAPASSO will administer the agreement on behalf of its thousands of members and affiliate members.
Music by African songwriters and performers is already proving popular on TikTok and has led to trends such as the electric dance genre #Amapiano, which exploded last year with over 290 million video views.
The South-African track Jerusalema, a song by DJ and producer Master KG, featuring vocalist Nomcebo was also a global TikTok sensation in 2020, following a choreographed dance routine by Angolan based Fenómenos do Semba dance group.
The #Jerusalema challenge videos have been viewed over 1 billion times and helped the track achieve international recognition and chart success in Europe and the United States.
“This is an exciting region for us with a huge pool of incredible talent, and we look forward to connecting them with our global audience”.
Jordan Lowy, TikTok
Jordan Lowy, Head of Music Publishing Licensing and Partnerships at TikTok said: “TikTok is delighted to enter into this agreement with SAMRO and CAPASSO, ensuring that songwriters, composers and publishers across Africa can benefit when their music is used on TikTok.
“This is an exciting region for us with a huge pool of incredible talent, and we look forward to connecting them with our global audience”.
“With the increasing spotlight on African music, more African songwriters are poised to reach global superstar status and TikTok will play a major role in showcasing their talents to the world.”
Wiseman Ngubo, CAPASSO
Wiseman Ngubo, CAPASSO Chief Operations Officer stated: “We are happy to have reached an agreement with TikTok in order to ensure that pan African songwriters are taken care of on the platform.
“As a social music platform, TikTok has revolutionised how we engage and consume music. TikTok allows fans to co-create, contextualise and re-interpret their favourite songs alongside their favourite artists and drives engagement and a deeper appreciation of songs in an era when music consumption is increasingly divorced from context.
“With the increasing spotlight on African music, more African songwriters are poised to reach global superstar status and TikTok will play a major role in showcasing their talents to the world.”
Other licensing agreements signed by TikTok in recent months include deals with Sony Music in November and Warner Music Group in December and an “expanded” global licensing agreement with Universal Music Group in February.
TikTok inked a multi-territory licensing deal with Merlin, the global digital rights agency for the world’s independent label sector, in January 2020.Music Business Worldwide
