Veteran jazz maestro Selaelo Selota has implored musicians and artists to understand the business behind the music industry, which is worth billions of rand.

“It's not so much about how good you sing. You can have the great voice, but if as an artist you don't understand how much money is generated through your craft, then you are in trouble," said Selota.

Selota was speaking today at the Intellectual Property Music Awareness Roadshow, which was organised by the Gauteng Department of Economic Development and the City of Johannesburg's Community Development Department in Parkview.

It is estimated that the music industry contributes more than R90 billion a year, but artists themselves not benefitting. The aim of the roadshows was to bring services such as copyright registration, registration for royalty distribution, intellectual property legal protection and contracting advisory, sponsorships towards market ready crafters, registration for SMME financial and non-financial support closer to communities.

“Artists need to understand and educate themselves about how collection societies gather money on their behalf," said Selota, who added that it was something he has had to learn early in his career.

Some of the music industry players that attended the event included South African Music Rights Organisation, South African Music Performance Rights Association, Association of Independent Record Companies (AIRCO) and Marketing Association of South Africa.

Stanley Khoza from AIRCO said he was shocked to learn that most artists still don't know what the different types of royalties they are entitled to. “The first person who starts to exploit the artist is the artist themselves. This is because as artists we don't invest time in understanding the value chain in the music industry," said Khoza.

Francina Ntsimane from the Gauteng Department of Economic Development said it was the department's responsibility to ensure that artists, especially from townships, have contact with relevant stakeholders in the township industry.

“The black-owned industry must be protected and we must ensure that they reap the rewards of their creative work, but currently we are not there yet," said Ntsimane.

Ntsimane urged artists to influence various legislations such as the Performance Protection Bill, which is before Parliament and the Copyright Amendment Bill.