What is needletime?
Needletime is a royalty provided for in section 9A of the Copyright Act, which was inserted into the Copyright Act in 2002. Needletime is payable by a broadcaster to the owner of copyright in any sound recording broadcast by the broadcaster. The owner of the copyright in the sound recording (i.e. the record label) must share the royalty with the performer(s) featured in the particular sound recording.

When must a broadcaster pay needletime?
The Copyright Act contemplates that needletime royalties are only payable upon the conclusion of an agreement between:

• the broadcaster;
• the owner or its representative collecting society;  and
• the performer or his or her representative collecting society.

Who is SAMPRA?
The South African Music Performance Rights Association is a collecting society accredited to collect needletime royalties from broadcasters, on behalf of its members. SAMPRA's only member is the Recording Industry of South Africa (RiSA). The members of RiSA are owners of the copyright in sound recordings, broadcast by the members of the NAB.

Why is the NAB bringing a High Court application?

• SAMPRA has demanded a needletime royalty from the members of the NAB. The NAB is of the view that the royalty demanded by SAMPRA is excessive. Despite negotiations, the NAB and SAMPRA have not been able to agree on a royalty, mainly due to SAMPRA's failure to indicate on what basis the suggested needletime royalty is regarded to be an appropriate royalty. 
• The NAB holds the view that a local solution should be found, which draws on the best of international practice and has regard to the unique circumstances of South Africa and the rationale for the government's decision to re-introduce needletime royalties, which are intended, primarily, to benefit performers. 
• The NAB intends to refer the determination of the royalty to the Copyright Tribunal, as required by the Copyright Act. However, the NAB is concerned that there are other issues in dispute between the NAB and SAMPRA which the Copyright Tribunal cannot decide, due to its limited powers. The NAB has therefore requested the High Court to consider whether the Copyright Tribunal is empowered to decide all the matters which the NAB wants to put before the Copyright Tribunal.
• The NAB is also concerned that performers are not being consulted in the determination of the royalty, as is required by the Copyright Act. A further reason for bringing the High Court application is to give notice to all performers of the referral of the dispute to the Copyright Tribunal. Any determination of a needletime royalty by the Copyright Tribunal will affect performers, because any needletime royalty paid to the owners of the copyright in sound recordings must be shared with the performers.