Sheer Music Publishing’s new business realignment creates more value for songwriters in a digital age

Something needed to be done.

Sheer Publishing, one of Africa’s largest independent Music Publishing houses, took the bull by its horns to create a service that caters for a variety of different publishing needs. The company, whose traditional business model was disrupted, identified new opportunities for songwriters in new spaces.

Newly appointed Managing Director at Sheer, Thando Makhunga explains, “With the consumption of music growing on a different number of platforms from traditional mediums to digital platforms – it’s imperative for a songwriter to have a publisher that can assist them to exploit, protect, collect and administrate their songs on their behalf.”

With their vast range of clients, the aim is to create value for songwriters and composers, by leveraging their creative works in new commercial spaces.

Sheer’s clientele range from production houses (tv, film, animation studios, documentary makers) to content creators (podcasters, radio, sports and reality), as well as agencies (advertising and marketing), providing a one-stop solution for music licensing and clearances, and music supervision. Sheer represents some of South Africa’s top composers and songwriters who can create bespoke commissioned works for any audio-visual project.

In November last year, Sheer Publishing (a division of Downtown Music Services) announced the global signing of the Johnny Clegg catalogue. It’s been less than a year, and the singer’s son and chart-topping singer-songwriter Jesse Clegg has also joined the Sheer and Downtown Music Services family. Sheer and DMS are excited to partner with Jesse Clegg to leverage his exceptional songwriting and composition catalogue globally.

Another recent signee to the company is platinum-selling amapiano artist, also known as the Queen of Amapiano, Bizizi.

She says, “We chose Sheer because we did our research and felt that they are the right match for our brand. The work they have done for other artists in the industry made it easy for us to entrust our catalogue to them. We have full faith in them.”

Sheer has recently launched a new production music library that allows film, television, and digital content clients easy access to a rich array of local and international titles.

The distinguished Music Publishing house has always been known to provide one of the richest, high-quality, and most diverse production music libraries in the country. In the past years, this was only available to key customers in the industry. With the launch of the online portal, Sheer has made the library accessible to the broader creator community via simple registration. It is now easier than ever to search for specific works to suit your production needs.

Makhunga says, “We’re continuously updating the online library with new works and encourage our customers to register to use it or contact our team who can provide guidance on any project requirements. “

Registration is at www.search.sheerpublishing.com.

With the exciting new strategy comes new appointments and promotions. Sheer would like to welcome the following representatives to the team.

Shiro Mwendwa
Creative and Sync Manager