Namibian artists urged to master direct licensing
Nascam handles only certain royalties, leaving artists to exploit other rights such as synchronisation and master use licences on their own.
Many Namibian musicians believe that registering with the collective management organisation Nascam means their copyright administration is taken care of. The source says this is a myth: Nascam issues blanket licences to broadcasters, pubs, shopping malls and live venues, deducts administration costs, and distributes the rest to members.
Rights outside that blanket scheme must be handled by the copyright holder. The most lucrative is the synchronisation licence, which a filmmaker, television producer or advertising agency needs before pairing music with moving images. No collecting society in Namibia administers sync rights on a blanket basis, so the fee depends on market value, length of use, territory and project budget.
Sync licences cover only the song itself, so a company using a studio recording needs a separate master use licence, which artists who fully own their masters can charge for alongside the sync fee. Under the 1994 Copyright and Neighbouring Rights Protection Act, using a track in a corporate video without clearing the master is direct infringement, and anyone wishing to sample a recording must negotiate a clearance fee, usually an upfront buyout or a co-publishing split.
Why it mattersArtists who own their masters can negotiate separate fees for sync and master use licences, since no Namibian collecting society handles these rights on their behalf.