The Closing of Showmax: Key Considerations for Music Rightsholders
Showmax will be discontinued after MultiChoice and Groupe Canal+ confirmed that the platform’s substantial annual losses made its business model unsustainable. The shutdown will be phased out gradually, with no immediate disruption to users.
Why It Matters for the Local Music Ecosystem
Showmax served as an entertainment hub for South African storytelling, commissioning and hosting locally produced series, reality shows, and documentaries, and its closure unfortunately removes one of the country’s largest online platforms for both the hosting and creation of local content.
Preparing for Change
Investments from international streamers into South African stories may shift. With platform transitions underway, and the potential for new services to emerge either locally or from global territories, commissioning and licensing may shift in ways that are not always familiar to local music publishers and composers. Practically, this means composers should focus on tightening their understanding of music copyright and licensing fundamentals.
We recommend that members refresh their knowledge of music copyright licensing, through topics such as;
- Understanding the difference between composition (publishing) and sound recording (master) rights,
- Understanding how these are licensed in film and TV across commercial, commissioned and production music, and how royalties flow through contracts and collecting societies,
- And understanding how commercially released music typically requires separate licences for the composition and the recording, while production and commissioned music may consolidate these into a single licence and fee. Additionally, remember that commissioned music may include negotiations around ownership of the recording.