Sheer Publishing Africa
South African music publisher founded in 1996, acquired by Downtown Music Holdings in 2020.
- Based in
- Johannesburg, South Africa
- Founded
- 1996
- Website
- sheerpublishing.co.za
Sheer Publishing Africa is a South African music publisher based in Johannesburg, established in 1996, and long described as the largest independent music publisher in Africa. It administers a large catalogue of African works ranging from traditional to contemporary repertoire.
In 2020 it was acquired by the US-based Downtown Music Holdings and has since been rebranded as Downtown Music Publishing Africa, while continuing to operate from South Africa. It provides rights administration, royalty collection and publishing services to African songwriters and composers.
It matters as a rare example of an African independent publisher scaling a pan-African catalogue and then being folded into a global rights group.
