In the digital-music ecosystem, proper registration and identification of both musical works (compositions) and sound recordings is important in ensuring that the right royalty flows. For creators and right-holders in South Africa who exploit their works online, such as on YouTube / Spotify, it’s critical to understand the difference between ISRC and ISWC to avoid revenue leakage or mis-allocation.
what does this case really mean for South African creators? Below is a detailed look at the legal principles, the limits of Mda’s win, and what local creatives should do moving forward.
Law News: September 2025 Walking the streets of London, Paris, and Rome, I’ve often found myself pausing in unexpected alleyways, staring at the walls rather than the landmarks. During my travels, I made it a quiet mission to follow the art of Banksy and other street artists like Jef Aérosol (the French stencil pioneer, famous …
Read more “When Art Meets the Law: Banksy, Erasure, and the South African Context”
If you’re a music creator in South Africa, you’ve probably poured countless hours into your songs — tweaking beats at 2 AM, perfecting that bass drop, and riding the creative highs (and coffee lows) until your track is ready for the world. You upload it, the streams roll in, and then… someone claims they made …
Read more “The South African Music Creator’s Guide to Protecting Your Tracks in the Age of AI”
Going to your nearest police station can be daunting as we know citizens don’t always get the red carpet rolled out for them and sometimes situations are difficult to explain and even trickier to understand. To make the process go as quick as possible, we thought we would give you an idea of what to …
Copyright explained. A copyright is an exclusive right granted by law for a limited period to an author, designer, etc. for his/her original work. Unlike other forms of intellectual property, copyright does not need to be registered, except for cinematograph films. What type of content enjoys copyright protection? The Copyright Act protects certain classes or categories of …
“On my way on holiday, the traffic police had a big roadblock where they appeared to be arresting people. I asked one of the traffic officers what was going on and he said they were arresting people for outstanding traffic fines. I pay my fines, so I have little sympathy for people that don’t, but …
Read more “Can you be arrested at a roadblock for outstanding fines?”