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Sony Music Entertainment Africa recently introduced a unique Artist Portal that allows artists to view their real time earnings and cash out. Most music artists worldwide, make the bulk of their revenue through physical music concerts and with that effectively ruled out at the moment due to the Covid-19 pandemic, their options are limited. As such, artists need immediate access to funds, and that’s where the Artist Portal from Sony comes in.

Q. Who can use the portal?

A. Artistes signed by Sony.

Q. What are the benefits of using the app?

A. Musicians and artistes can view how well their work is doing globally in real time through the app. This feature eliminates long periodic cycles where artistes had to wait to see royalties and how much they have made. This information will now be availed on this app to artistes anywhere and at any time. Artists will also gain insights on their earning trends, where their music is being bought from and how much.

With this feature artistes can request the payable balance for their royalties monthly, either in part or in full.

Q. How does the portal work?

A. The Sony Artist Portal App is available on both iOS or Google Play and its services are free of charge. The portal has two functions, Real Time Earnings and Cash Out. The Cash Out element gives artists greater control over their money by providing them with the ability to request a withdrawal of all, or part, of their payable balance, and there are no hidden fees or charges that are incurred when doing so.

Q. How can artistes in Zimbabwe benefit from such a service?

A. Through partnership with the country’s radio stations, Zimura which collects royalties on behalf of artistes in Zimbabwe, needs to come up with a similar initiative that will allow artists to view and withdraw their earnings faster than before. This will also make the issue of royalties more transparent.