SAMPRA Development Fund

In August 2020 The South African Music Rights Performance Association launched the SAMPRA Development Fund.

I know some of you might not be aware of this fund and that’s the reason why I decided to write this blog post.

I assume that you are already familiar with SAMPRA, if not I would suggest that you read the following article first.

SAMPRA VS SAMRO

If you are a SAMPRA member or have applied (or plan to) for membership please continue reading. I won’t take too much of your time but I’ll share with you.

What is the SAMPRA Development Fund?

According to their website, the SAMPRA Development Fund is a Corporate Social Investment arm of SAMPRA and their mandate is to contribute to the development and sustainability of SAMPRA members.

So that means you would have to be a SAMPRA member in order to benefit from the fund – Which brings us to the next point.

Who can benefit from the Fund?

Any artist (performing and recording) can benefit from the SAMPRA Development and that includes music producers.

For example let’s say that you are a music producer in need of additional funding, you can apply for financial aid at the SAMPRA Development Fund. They would be able to assist with the following:

• Pre-production
• Studio rental
• Mastering costs
• Graphic design
• Session fees
• Pressing
• Catering and Accommodation during recording sessions; and
• Accommodation expenses during recording sessions.

If you are a performing artist and gig a lot, the fund can also assist with travelling costs for locally and abroad.

There are also other benefits for members such as bursaries to further your studies related to the business side of music, funeral benefits and post-retirement savings just to name a few.

What are the requirements?

Okay I’m pretty sure by now you’re asking “What’s the catch?”

Well there’s no catch as such but remember I said you have to be a SAMPRA member?

But that’s not all.  Again going back and using the music producer as an example you would have to meet the following requirements to be eligible for funding.

• You need to have earned a minimum of 3K (that’s 3000 ZAR by the way) over three royalty statements
• Not be in an exclusive contract with any record company/label
• Ensure that you own and have cleared any tracks that you are working on

If the above is in order then you are eligible to apply for funding by submitting your detailed CV, together with a motivation letter, a certified copy of your ID, 3 months bank statements and quotations related to music production costs.

Summary

If you want to know more about the SAMPRA Development Fund, you can visit their website below:

SAMPRA Development Fund Website

Read the following article on how to apply for SAMPRA Membership