Gresham Music Group Launches Dynamic African Venture with SESAC, The Harry Fox Agency, SUISA Digital Licensing & Mint

Johannesburg, Africa (July 13th, 2020) – Gresham Rights Management (PTY) Ltd (GRM), the newest music company in the expanding Gresham Music Group portfolio, has joined forces with SESAC, The Harry Fox Agency, SUISA Digital Licensing and Mint Digital Services to launch an innovative new music rights service in Africa that will assist both African & International songwriters and publishers in direct licensing and collections for copyrights in one of the fastest growing music markets in the world, it was announced today.

In the new venture, GRM will serve as the exclusive representative for both SESAC and The Harry Fox Agency in sub-Saharan Africa with a joint licensing operation with SUISA Digital Licensing, which includes data administration by Mint Digital Services. The new company will enable creators to enjoy faster distributions, lower admin costs and provide African songwriters and publishers access to a broader spectrum of music users across the continent & around the world.

These new benefits combined with synergies among Gresham Music Group’s other entities, such as Gresham Media, one of the largest service providers for background music in Africa, will allow the company’s new partners to reach more listeners in retail, gyms, hotels and restaurants daily. GRM’s vision is to unlock as much value for African and international rights holders as possible, through the convergence of data and technology & establish a new rights management relationship between copyright owners & music users. This dynamic new venture fully encompasses Gresham Music Groups mission to uplift, empower and assist African talent both on the continent and around the globe through innovative partnerships and disruptive new technology that will inevitably put more money in the pockets of African artists, executives and investors.

“We are thrilled to join forces with Gresham Music Group as they open the door to a new form of licensing, administration and collection for our writers and publishers in sub-Sahara Africa,” said Alexander Wolf, President of SESAC International. Vincent Salvade, Member of the Board of SUISA Digital Licensing added that “the company’s expertise along with its authoritative resources will provide our affiliates with second-to-none service in the emerging marketplace.”

“Being able to provide superior administrative services on every continent is and always has been the goal of Mint. We are thrilled that GRM chose to work with us and we are looking forward to bringing the proper value of music to one of the most exciting and diverse music markets in the world: Africa” said Fabian Niggemeier, CEO of Mint Digital Services.

About Gresham Music Group

Gresham Music Group is the leading independent music company in Africa. Established in 1972 by radio & television pioneer David Gresham. The Gresham Music Group consists of 5 distinct and interchangeable business units, namely, David Gresham Records, the quintessential record label for African music creators, having handled the distribution & music related affairs for stars such as Bantu Soul, Rouge, Nutty Nys, Iggy Smallz, Miza, Slikour, Zikhona, Jimmy Nevis, The Gugulethu Tenors, Myzozo, Faith Evans, Shirley Caesar, Janet Jackson, Childish Gambino, Brian McKnight, Ashanti, Boyz II Men, Snoop Dogg, Joe, DJ Khaled, Goapele, Marlon Roudette, Jeffrey Osborne & Ray J to name a select few. David Gresham Records is also the worlds largest independent Neighboring Rights Administrator. Gresham Media is the largest supplier of background and in-store music on the continent servicing retail groups, hotel chains, restaurants and gyms.Gresham Rights Management is a music publishing entity focused on direct licensing and data administration. David Gresham Music is a publishing business that represents both domestic copyrights and some of the world’s biggest international publishing catalogs. Gresham Licensing Company is a one-stop-shop licensing business assisting music users with copyright compliance, playlist submissions and society relations. 

About SUISA

SUISA is the cooperative society for composers, lyricists and music publishers in Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Its 38,000 members include music professionals from all disciplines. In Switzerland and Liechtenstein, SUISA represents the musical repertoire of two million authors worldwide. It grants licenses to use this repertoire to more than 120,000 customers. In 2017, SUISA and US performance rights organization SESAC founded the joint venture Mint Digital Services. The company manages invoicing and administration for the transnational music licensing businesses of SESAC, its subsidiary the Harry Fox Agency and SUISA with online providers, and also offers its services to publishers.

With approximately 240 employees in Zurich, Lausanne and Lugano, SUISA generates a turnover of more than CHF 160 million. As a non-profit organization, it distributes the proceeds from licences to music authors and publishers after deducting the administrative costs. www.suisa.ch

About Mint Digital Services AG

Mint Digital Services is the alliance between the only U.S. Music Rights Organization (MRO), SESAC, and the Swiss collective management organization, SUISA. Mint is one of the leading administrators for licenses to use musical compositions in online music services on behalf of publishers, Collective-Management Organizations (CMOs) or Independent Management Entities (IMEs).

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