Herewith report-back from the AIRCO Broadcast Sub-Committee regarding Needletime, Video License Agreements, Negotiations with RISA, Dual Membership of RISA and AIRCO, Video Database and Monitoring, and Local Content.

Needletime

In 2002 Cabinet approved needletime and Parliament laid down regulations governing it in terms of The Performance Protection Amendment Act. Consultation on the Act had to be as inclusive as possible and it was anticipated that the process would take up to two years. The collection society regulations eventually took four years to publish.

AIRCO is now engaged in the process of working with all stake holders and role players to find consensus on a format and formula for needletime distribution. To this end, the broadcast committee is obtaining legal opinion on the ramifications and implications that The Performance Protection Amendment Act of 2002 has for AIRCO members and their artists.

Video License Agreements

The broadcast committee is busy with preparations to formalize AIRCO’s relationship with video broadcasters such as the SABC, subscription and free-to-air channels. It is also involved in exploratory discussions with MTV Networks Europe to licence video repertoire owned by AIRCO members for broadcast on its MTV Base Africa channel in sub-Saharan territories.

AIRCO in negotiations with RiSA

The RiSA video license agreement with the SABC expired on 1 April 2006 and given the ongoing problems experienced by RiSA in negotiating a blanket video license model and the SABC’s flawed reporting system, the broadcast committee believes that AIRCO is well positioned to negotiate with RiSA, at least in the short term, on the collection and distribution of video licensing income on behalf of its members.

RiSA is of course aware that AIRCO intends to negotiate collective licensing agreements and performance rights issues with broadcasters. RiSA also knows that AIRCO would like to explore possibilities of a joint approach with it in this regard. A mutual area of concern to RiSA and AIRCO is that both trade associations could end up claiming that they represent the same members when negotiating with broadcasters. It is also in the collective interest of local music that broadcasters be prevented from trying to operate under licenses from individual record companies.

In order to move this process forward, it will be essential for all AIRCO members interested in being represented in these negotiations to sign an exclusive audio visual agreement with AIRCO. This mandate, which will include other consents necessary for the executive committee to operate effectively, is in the process of being commissioned.

Dual Membership

In order for a member to be in a position to grant AIRCO this mandate, it’s not necessary for any member to terminate its membership with RiSA. It will however be necessary for a member to terminate the tacit mandate that RiSA has to negotiate collective licensing agreements with broadcasters on its behalf. AIRCO will be able to assist its members in this regard. This also applies to any former member of RiSA where membership has not officially been terminated in writing - otherwise the RiSA secretariat continues to have a tacit mandate to negotiate on the member’s behalf.
Video Database & Monitoring

With the use of modern technology, the broadcast committee will assess the viability of AIRCO offering a number of solutions to its members, such as the setting up of an independent centralized video registry and monitoring system with access to on-line information.  This would provide members with a real-time marketing tool on which our members could base their strategies. It’d also provide AIRCO with a more accurate and transparent method of reporting than is currently available and, hopefully, would speed up the receipt of payments from broadcasters on a more regular and manageable basis.

The video registry would of course also be accessible to broadcasters for internal use and for any third parties wishing to make use of music videos.

Local Content

AIRCO is currently weighing up various options to improve local content usage by South African broadcasters. The broadcasting committee is consulting with former ICASA chairman Mandla Langa for assistance in getting ICASA to recognize music videos as local content.

It is a concern that on most TV channels much of the content played is international repertoire.  Pressure has to be put on broadcasters to increase the local content through ICASA. Whilst recognizing that ICASA is the legitimate platform for negotiating content, AIRCO should nevertheless use its negotiations with the broadcasters to try and balance out an equation with sensitivity towards local content.  

Other areas of concern under investigation, specifically with regards to Radio broadcasting, include free interview opportunities, play-listing procedures, reporting of airplay and payola.

AIRCO approached the DAC earlier this year to assist it in lobbying the Department of Communication, the SABC and ICASA for an improvement in the promotion and play listing of local content. For example, broadcasters made submissions to ICASA in 2003 requesting that on air, “non play” items such as interviews with musicians be recognised as contributing to the development of South African content. Although ICASA introduced a mechanism to accommodate this request, interviews for the most part are only available to local artists if their record companies pay applicable commercial rates and we believe the SABC should be pressured to review its policy in this regard, especially in view of the fact that many visiting international artists get interviews for free.