The South African Recording Rights Association Limited (SARRAL) says its royalty battle with Colin Shapiro is far from over. In a media release, the organisation says:
"On Saturday November 7 2009, there was a story on national TV that ‘SARRAL has been ordered to close with immediate effect’, the judgement of a legal battle that has been going on for five years. There were comments on Facebook on Friday, stating that SARRAL is to be shut down. It is only fair that we put the facts across, and state our position herein.
The judgement on Friday to ‘liquidate SARRAL with immediate effect’ is far from the fact of the matter. As much as it is true that the Friday judgement against SARRAL is true, it is however misleading to say that SARRAL is closing down.
SARRAL is a member driven organization, and it is in the interest of the members that the organization be upheld. It is thus a sad state of affairs that a composer, who also served at board level, is the source of this battle – which threatens the lives of many other members whose interests SARRAL represents. It is for this reason that the matter has been taken to a higher level where the matter is being appealed, and the core issues are dealt with.
SARRAL has been an important stakeholder in the music industry, and we understand the repercussions of such a statement as it causes uncertainty among the members and prospective member. We would like to reassure our members that SARRAL is still very much alive and operating – and will continue to fight in the interest of our members."
