SAMRO press release: SAMRO and CAPASSO welcome appointment of new SAMRO CEO

To view the original press release from SAMRO, please click here. 

The Southern African Music Rights Organisation NPC (SAMRO) together with the Composers Authors and Publishers Association (CAPASSO) today jointly announced the appointment of Nothando Migogo as incoming Chief Executive Officer of SAMRO, from 1 July 2017, saying she will inject a “dynamic and focused energy” into the copyright administration society.

“The Boards of SAMRO and CAPASSO are  pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Nothando Migogo as the Chief Executive Officer of SAMRO”, the two bodies said in a joint statement. 

Nothando has been CEO of CAPASSO since January 2014 and has led that organisation, together with a dynamic team, to triple digit revenue growth and crucial licensing breakthroughs. Importantly, CAPASSO initiated two key strategies: first, the integration of rights holders (composers and publishers) in the field of mechanical rights administration following years of fragmented administration and secondly, the licensing of digital music platforms in South Africa”.

The statement continued: “SAMRO and CAPASSO look forward to continued strategic engagement and assure all stakeholders – members, licensees and government – that the solid structures and strong relationship between CAPASSO and SAMRO will ensure that all operational and strategic processes for both organizations will benefit by a seamless transition and will continue smoothly in the future. A strong succession structure has been in place at CAPASSO for some time, and will continue to deliver the success and growth thus far achieved.”

The SAMRO Board said that Migogo would succeed the acting Group CEO, the Reverend Abe Sibiya. Sibiya will return to the chairmanship of the organisation once she assumes office in July, and acting chair Sibongile Khumalo will resume her position as his deputy on the SAMRO Board.

Migogo, who was appointed following a lengthy recruitment process, is no stranger to SAMRO. She previously served as the managing director of DALRO, a SAMRO subsidiary that administers literary, artistic and dramatic rights, serves on the board of SAMRO Foundation and more recently spearheaded the establishment of mechanical rights collecting society CAPASSO.

“It was at CAPASSO where Nothando’s skills, knowledge and her visionary and strategic insights became abundantly clear,” Khumalo noted this week.

A lawyer by training, Migogo has previously worked in educational publishing and as a tax consultant, and during her DALRO stint was named by the Mail & Guardian as one of its Top 200 Young South Africans to watch.

Sibiya, who was appointed to chair the SAMRO Board seven years ago, assumed the mantle of acting Group CEO when Sipho Dlamini stepped down in March 2016. He reflected that he has had to dig deep into his experience as a media executive and fuse it with lessons from the “SAMRO University” to carry out the role. 

Over the past year, he and the executive team have focused on improving efficiencies, while accelerating transformation and BEE within the organisation. Their achievements include improving the royalty tariff payable by the public broadcaster, thereby increasing performing rights revenue for SAMRO members.

Commented Sibiya: “Ms Migogo is an astute and intelligent executive and a tried-and-tested professional who is credited with setting up CAPASSO from scratch. She has proved her mettle and will no doubt give a good account of herself as she steers this 55-year-old organisation with its 15 000 members. I know she will prove to be an asset to SAMRO.”

Added Khumalo: “Nothando is one of a growing cohort of astute young executives with a values-based attitude to leadership. We look forward to her moving SAMRO firmly along on its quest to remain an ethical and forward-looking modern organisation, and a vital player in our industry’s digital space.”

She said: “We have no doubt that her presence will imbue SAMRO with a dynamic and focused energy, and a youthfulness that will help us tap into our members’ needs. We look forward to an energized organization with a fresh handle on its strategic vision.”