TikTok has inked a licensing deal that will ensure that musicians such as Master KG and Amapiano hit-makers receive royalties when their tunes are used on the platform.
The multi-year agreement was signed between the leading short-form video platform and the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (Samro) as well as Composers Authors and Publishers Association (Capasso).
Songwriters, composers and music publishers represented by the organisations will as part of the new deal be guaranteed royalty payments.
“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,” said Jordan Lowy, head of music publishing licensing and partnerships at 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.”
The deal will cover 58 countries across Africa, through Capasso, and the organisation will manage the agreement on behalf of their members estimated to be over 1,000.
“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,” said Wiseman Ngubo, Capasso chief operations officer.
“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.”
Last year, emerging dance genre Amapiano was a hot trend on the platform and garnered over 181 million views.
Master KG and Nomcebo Zibode’s Jerusalema went viral thanks to a dance challenge choreographed by Angolan dance group Fenómenos do Semba.
The Jerusalema dance challenge videos have been viewed over one billion times and helped that track gain global success and charted in Europe and the US.
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