“SAMRO [the Southern African Music Rights Organisation] appreciates and welcomes the President’s [Cyril Ramaphosa] swift action to contain the spread of the coronavirus. We are gravely concerned about what this ban on large gatherings will mean for our members’ financial well-being,” said Nicholas Maweni, chairperson of SAMRO.
The majority of SAMRO members have two major income streams including royalties collected by the organization, which are distributed periodically, as well as income from performing at events. “Many will instinctively turn to SAMRO for financial bail outs. The financial pressure this will have on SAMRO is one that we are unable to bear,” said Maweni.
“We request all our members to urgently contact their creditors, particularly the financial institutions and landlords and advise them of their changed financial situation and negotiate payment terms to avoid tarnishing their good credit records. We call on all the event owners not to cancel but postpone shows and events until the ban on large gatherings has been lifted,” said Maweni.
What about people with transport trucks standing no income trucks insurance employees to be paid