Interview With Lazarus Serobe, Managing Director of DALRO (South Africa)

on Apr 04, 2022

Lazarus Serobe was appointed MD of DALRO in December 2014. As a management consultant and arts activist, Lazarus Serobe was one of a handful of black executives who helped transform the South African recording industry. He was CEO at Sony Music Entertainment Africa until 2005 and at Warner Music Gallo Africa from 2008 until 2010. Born and schooled in Soweto, Johannesburg, he studied law at Wits University. He joined Sony as legal and business affairs director when the company was launched in post-apartheid South Africa in 1995 and became the CEO in 2000. In 2005 he launched Heita Records, a joint venture with Sony, who later bought him out. Heita was a success from the get-go, launching brands such as Malaika and housing songstress Sibongile Khumalo. When he took over at Sony, he brought South African house and Kwaito Artists into the corporate fold.

Frontlist : What are your thoughts on the Author-Publisher Relationship in copyrighting?

Lazarus: It is a very important relationship as each relies on the other for a successful and sustainable outcome of their endeavors. Without an author, the publisher has nothing to publish, and without a publisher, authors would struggle to get their works distributed as widely as possible.

Frontlist: Being a Managing Director of DALRO, what are some of the measures that the organization has taken up till now for copyright?

Lazarus: DALRO represents the rights’ holders (authors & publishers) in the secondary use of their works and ensures that they get remunerated for such use by third parties.

Frontlist: What are some of the most crucial challenges that copyright faces in
South Africa?

Lazarus: The most crucial challenge is the legislative process that seeks to introduce broad exceptions and limitations, plus ‘American type’ fair use provisions.

Frontlist: How does copyright law work in South Africa? What are some of the
common penalties of copyright infringement?

Lazarus: Apart from very rare jail terms, there are no set penalties for Copyright Infringement. An aggrieved party would have to sue for damages suffered on each occasion.

Frontlist: Copyright is the most important tool of the entire literary policy
toolbox, still, people often have free access to pirated content. What steps
DALRO is taking against piracy?
Lazarus: DALRO is part of a broad network of copyright entities, including publishers, authors, music CMOs and others under the auspices of the Copyright Coalition of South Africa (CCSA) and the continent-wide Partners Against Piracy (PAP). These entities are at the forefront of copyright protection and anti-piracy efforts in the region.