POSA PETITION

POSA presents petition to Minister of Trade and Industry

The Board of the Performers Organisation of South Africa Trust (POSA), led by Sibongile Khumalo, presented a petition to the office of the Minister of Trade and Industry on June 6, 2011.

The petition was launched on April 18, 2011, to request the Minister of Trade and Industry, Dr Rob Davies, to amend the copyright legislation to allow about R100-million in unpaid Needletime royalties to be paid out to the country’s recording artists and record companies.

The POSA Board presented the petition to the office of the Minister in Pretoria and it was accepted by Mr Moosa Ebrahim, chief of staff in the Minister’s office.

Hugely supported by recording artists and by copyright experts, the petition calls on the Minister to amend the copyright legislation to remove the legal loopholes and ensure that the country’s musicians finally receive income due to them from the public usage of their recordings.

Needletime Rights royalties are royalties due to musicians/recording artists and record companies whose recordings are broadcast, or performed in public – for example, on radio stations.

The petition was accompanied by an analysis of the legislation and regulations governing the administration of Needletime Rights. The analysis points out the loopholes in the legislation and the regulations. POSA also presented proposed amendments to the relevant sections of the legislation and the regulations. The petition, the analysis of the legislation and regulations, and proposed amendments to the legislation and the regulations will also be forwarded to the Chairperson of Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on trade and industry.

POSA is a Trust established to administer Needletime Rights on behalf of recording artists/musicians. More information on www.posatrust.org.za