Cape Town was buzzing during FAME Week 2023, which brought together creative and media professionals from around Africa.

Media Host CEO, Shanaaz Nel, spoke on the first day of the conference about tracking music usage to enhance revenue in South Africa.  Addressing an animated audience, Shanaaz outlined Media Host's commitment to exploring the potential of technology to build sustainable revenue models for the music industry.

Shanaaz provided an overview of the South Africa music industry, which is the biggest music market in Africa. A RISA industry report for 2020 showed that the music industry in South Africa earned R456 million in total, i.e. record sales. Of this, R368 million was earned by international record labels, and R88 million earned by local music companies. The market share of local music, therefore, has dwindled from 50% ten years ago, to less than 20%, and it has decreased by 4.5% from 2019 to 2020.

An estimated cumulative R1.5 billion in royalties were collected through CMOS at the end of the 2021 financial year. Primary revenue streams for artists and composers include music rights and performance, services (teaching, acting, voice-over), brand-related and grants and funding revenue.

Media Host applies state-of-the-art fingerprinting technology to match music used by specific broadcasters. The needle time of each track per station is measured. This gives artists the peace of mind that royalties claimed against any Collection Management Organisation (CMO) in South Africa will be accurate. Proof of flight is also provided.

Media Host is dedicated to providing effective and accurate ways to monitor and track music across Africa. If you'd like more info on our music monitoring, please email Shanaaz (shanaaz@mediahost.co.za).