Last week, news surfaced that the South African Music and Performance Rights Association (Sampra) has taken legal action against restaurant group Life and Brand Portfolio. This company stands accused of playing copyrighted music without proper authorisation for the past four years. This incident follows Sampra's previous engagement with the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) in 2021. At that time, Sampra pursued legal action against the public broadcaster for allegedly withholding over R250 million in needle time royalties owed to artists. The public response to these developments underscores a broader misunderstanding regarding how artists rely on their recorded music for income and the significance of performance rights. This necessitates a deeper conversation to ensure clarity and fairness in supporting the livelihoods of artists in the music industry.        CEO of South African Music and Performance Rights Association Pfanani Livisha joins Lerato Mbele for the conversation.