# DMT Music Digital Streaming Rights Policy — DRAFT

**Version:** 1.0  
**Proposed effective date:** To be set after legal and commercial approval  
**Platform:** DMT Music  
**Scope:** On-demand listening to music through DMT Music's website and future authorised apps

This draft describes how DMT Music will obtain, document, use and account for rights in music offered for streaming. It is intended to sit alongside the DMT Music Advertising, Sales and Royalties Policy and a separate signed agreement with each label, distributor or independent artist. A signed licence and applicable law prevail where they impose different terms. This draft does not itself grant DMT Music rights in any recording.

## 1. Principles

1. **No public stream without clearance.** A track must remain unavailable to listeners until DMT Music has documented the permissions required for its intended territories, uses and term.
2. **Rights remain with their owners.** Uploading a track does not transfer copyright to DMT Music. The uploader grants only the uses specified in an accepted agreement and supported by its chain of title.
3. **Different rights are accounted for separately.** The musical work (music and lyrics), the master sound recording, recorded performances, artwork, photographs and any video or sampled material may have different owners and licensing routes.
4. **No implied royalty rate.** A stream count is not a promise of a fixed payment. DMT Music will not launch paid or advertising-supported streaming on the basis of this draft alone; the applicable licence and royalty schedule must be signed and implemented first.

## 2. Rights that must be cleared

For each release, DMT Music will identify and document:

| Material or use | Permission to establish |
| --- | --- |
| Master recording | Authority from the owner or authorised distributor to host, encode, cache, transmit and offer on-demand streams. |
| Musical work and lyrics | Licences or direct permissions for reproduction, communication/performance and other uses applicable to the service and territories. |
| Recorded performances and neighbouring rights | Any consent, licence or remuneration applicable to the particular use, confirmed with the relevant rightsholders or collecting bodies. |
| Samples, interpolations and cover versions | Written clearance for both the sampled recording, where used, and the underlying work, as applicable. |
| Cover art, photographs, names and likenesses | Permission to display the assets and identify the performers in the service. |
| Music video or audiovisual material | Separate audiovisual, synchronisation and image permissions before video publication. |
| Offline copies, downloads, advertisements and third-party syndication | A separate express permission; none is implied by a streaming upload. |

DMT Music will consult the relevant rightsholders, publishers, labels and licensing organisations on the scope of each licence. In South Africa, CAPASSO identifies online streaming services as potential licensees for composition mechanical rights and expressly distinguishes those rights from the master recording. SAMRO identifies digital streaming platforms as music users for rights it administers. SAMPRA distinguishes rights in recorded performances from the underlying musical work. The exact licence needed depends on the service, repertoire, territory and use; membership or a licence with one organisation must not be treated as clearance of every right.

## 3. Artist and label submission requirements

Before approval, the submitting account must provide accurate, current information for each track:

- Legal name and contact details of the person or entity authorised to license the master; label or distributor name, if any.
- Track title, artist, featured performers, album, genre, release date, territory and any identifiers available, including ISRC for the recording and ISWC for the composition.
- Songwriters, lyricists, composers and publishers, their ownership shares, collecting-society affiliations, and a signed split sheet or equivalent evidence where there is more than one contributor.
- Master owners and their shares, the applicable artist, producer and performer agreements, and any authorised distributor's scope.
- Sample, cover, artwork and video clearances, plus any restrictions, embargoes, exclusivity or previously granted rights that could conflict with DMT Music's proposed use.
- Confirmation that the submitted audio and metadata match the authorised release and that the account will notify DMT Music promptly of ownership or contact changes.

An artist cannot grant rights it does not control. DMT Music may request contracts or other evidence, pause approval, restrict territories or remove a track until a dispute is resolved. The account holder remains responsible for its contractual payments to collaborators unless DMT Music has expressly agreed to pay identified rightsholders directly. DMT Music remains responsible for obtaining and complying with any licences that apply to its own service; an uploader warranty does not replace that responsibility.

## 4. Licence to operate the service

Subject to a separate accepted artist or label agreement, the rightsholder grants DMT Music a **non-exclusive, non-transfer-of-ownership** licence during the agreed term and in the agreed territories to:

- Store the authorised audio and artwork securely, create technical copies and transcodes needed for reliable playback, and deliver on-demand streams to listeners.
- Display approved release metadata, cover art, artist name and reasonable excerpts of the work on the DMT Music service for discovery and ordinary promotion of that release.
- Use service providers only to the extent necessary to host, secure, deliver, measure and report the licensed streams, subject to contractual confidentiality and security duties.

DMT Music will not sell the master, grant unrelated sublicences, make a downloadable file available, place the track in a third-party advertisement, synchronise it to video, create a derivative work, or use it for model training without an additional express permission. A separately priced track sale must be governed by the sales and listener licence terms; it is not included merely because streaming was authorised.

The agreement must state its start date, end date, territories, permitted service tier, advertising treatment, promotional excerpt rules, and withdrawal process. DMT Music may require a reasonable technical period to remove cached copies after expiry or valid withdrawal, while preserving records needed for accounting, disputes and legal obligations.

## 5. Review, publication and withdrawal

DMT Music will review the submitted metadata, ownership evidence, quality and rights restrictions before publishing a track. Approval of an upload is an editorial and operational decision, not a warranty that every third-party right has been cleared. A material rights concern blocks or suspends streaming while the relevant parties investigate it.

A rightsholder may request withdrawal through the published support channel, identify the track and provide proof of authority. DMT Music will acknowledge the request, pause access promptly when credible infringement or safety concerns require it, and resolve ordinary contractual withdrawals under the signed licence. The parties will account for legitimate uses that occurred before removal. DMT Music may preserve an audit record after public access ends.

## 6. Listening data and eligible plays

The existing DMT Music player increments a counter on an initial audio request. That counter may include brief starts, reloads, technical retries or automated activity. It does **not** prove that a listener heard a whole track or establish a royalty entitlement. Unique signed-in listeners and anonymous listeners are not measured equivalently in the current implementation.

Before introducing stream-based payments, DMT Music must publish and contract an **eligible-play rule** that specifies a minimum listening threshold, treatment of previews and repeats, bot and fraud screening, offline playback if ever supported, account/territory rules, reversals and an appeal process. Technical logs should retain only the personal data needed for security, measurement, audit and applicable privacy requirements. Suspicious plays may be held for review, with reasons and a means to challenge the decision.

## 7. Streaming revenue and royalty schedule

The existing **85% artist / 15% DMT** split applies to a verified **direct track sale**, as stated in the separate sales policy. It **does not apply automatically to a stream**. Generic R150 event advertising is also separate from music-streaming revenue and creates no automatic per-track royalty.

A future paid subscription or in-player advertising product requires a signed **Streaming Royalty Schedule** before any charge or royalty claim. For each period, that schedule must state:

1. Which receipts enter the pool: subscriptions, music-player advertising, sponsorship or other specified revenue, with clear treatment of free trials and bundled offers.
2. Allowed deductions and their order: refunds, chargebacks, applicable taxes, payment processing costs and separately licensed rights, with no hidden deductions.
3. The amount or percentage reserved for each relevant rightsholder category, the DMT Music platform allocation, minimum guarantees if any, and how direct licences interact with collective licensing.
4. The eligible-play definition and calculation method: for example, a disclosed pro rata pool formula or an agreed per-eligible-play rate, including rounding and treatment of unmatched works.
5. The reporting period, currency, exchange-rate rule if needed, payment dates, threshold, withholding or tax handling, dispute period and audit access.
6. The treatment of unclaimed, disputed or unmatched royalties, including a documented reserve and later correction procedure.

**Proposed calculation framework for negotiation only:** identify period receipts; subtract expressly agreed taxes, refunds and processing charges; settle or reserve separately licensed composition and other mandated rights under their own agreements; allocate the remaining defined pool between the licensed master-rights pool and DMT Music using a signed percentage; allocate each master-rights pool by the signed eligible-play method. No percentage, minimum or per-stream rand rate is set by this draft, and the current software does not perform this calculation. A collective-society licence may impose a different fee or reporting basis and must be complied with separately.

## 8. Statements, payment and corrections

When a streaming schedule is active, DMT Music will provide rightsholders with periodic statements showing the service period, revenue sources, permitted deductions, eligible plays, allocation formula, gross and net amounts, prior adjustments, taxes and balance payable. The signed agreement will specify statement frequency, payment deadline, threshold and a reasonable records-inspection process.

DMT Music will investigate a good-faith discrepancy in ownership, stream eligibility or accounting; make a documented adjustment; and explain the result to affected parties. Refunds, fraud, reversals and corrected rights shares must be recorded as auditable adjustments. DMT Music will not silently divert a disputed share to another party. Where two parties assert conflicting ownership, the affected amount may be held pending evidence or resolution while undisputed sums proceed under the applicable agreement.

## 9. Listener use and promotion

A listener receives a limited right to play an authorised stream for personal use through DMT Music, subject to the service terms. No ownership, download, redistribution, recording, rebroadcast, commercial public-performance or synchronisation right is granted. A business playing music in a venue may need its own public-use licences even when an individual subscription or stream is available.

Sponsored placements must be labelled and kept distinct from editorial selection. DMT Music will not imply an artist endorsement from a routine catalog listing. Use of a recording, image or name in a bespoke commercial advertisement requires separate written approval and agreed compensation.

## 10. Complaints and changes

DMT Music will publish a rights-complaint and counter-notice contact channel before launch. A notice should identify the work, allegedly infringing URL or track, claimed right, contact information and supporting evidence. DMT Music will acknowledge it, investigate promptly, restrict content where appropriate, notify the uploader when lawful and fair, and preserve a review trail. Repeat or deliberate infringement can result in account restrictions under the service terms.

Material changes to rights scope or royalty calculations apply prospectively after notice and any required consent. DMT Music will retain the accepted version for each rightsholder and release. A changed rate will not retroactively rewrite a closed accounting period except for a documented correction, refund, reversal or agreed adjustment.

## Implementation status and approval record

This is a policy **draft**, not a statement that DMT Music already holds the licences described above. The current application records media requests and direct-sale accounting but lacks a rights-intake workflow, eligible-play verification, streaming royalty ledger, automated collective reporting and streaming royalty payouts. Those controls, signed contracts and territorial licences are prerequisites for a royalty-bearing launch.

**Approved by DMT Music:** ____________________  **Date:** __________  
**Legal/licensing review:** ____________________  **Date:** __________  
**Artist/label agreement template version:** __________  
**Streaming Royalty Schedule version and effective date:** __________

## Reference points for licensing review

- [CAPASSO: Music Licensing](https://www.capasso.co.za/music-licensing/) and [CAPASSO 101](https://www.capasso.co.za/capasso-101/)
- [SAMRO: Music creators and digital service providers](https://www.samro.org.za/)
- [SAMPRA: Music user licensing FAQ](https://compliance.sampra.org.za/FAQS/)
- [South African Copyright Act 98 of 1978](https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/201504/act-98-1978.pdf)

These are starting points for the service-specific review, not a substitute for written confirmation of DMT Music's repertoire, territories and uses from the relevant licensors.