Directory
South Africa
Labels, distributors, publishers, studios, promoters and platforms working across African music. Listings are editorial and free, and every one is checked against its sources before it appears.
- 622 companies
- 13 categories
- 57 markets
Collecting Society
AFM & SAG-AFTRA Intellectual Property Rights Distribution Fund
The US fund that collects and distributes performance royalties to non-featured performers, and a named party to the November 2024 SAMPRA reciprocal agreement.
Management
Africa Creative Agency
Johannesburg talent management agency co-managing South African artist Tyla with We Make Music.
Live & Events
Africa House
Members club and cultural platform for African and diaspora creatives, run as the culture arm of the Johannesburg talent agency Africa Creative Agency.
Publisher
African Composers Edition
South African sheet music publisher of African art music, founded in 2012 and now owned by UK company The Maestro Online Ltd.
Distributor
Africori
Johannesburg distributor and rights manager founded in 2009, wholly owned by Warner Music Group since February 2025.
Label
Afrotainment
Durban-based South African record label founded in 2007 by DJ Tira, known for launching gqom and kwaito acts including Big Nuz and Distruction Boyz.
Label
Ambitiouz Entertainment
Independent South African label founded in Johannesburg in 2015 by Kgosi Mahumapelo.
Label
Anolabex
South African registered company credited as exclusive licensor on the late Riky Rick's Sony Music Africa releases; ownership unconfirmed.
Label
Baby Blue Entertainment (Pty) Ltd
South African amapiano record label, credited as phonogram rightsholder and as licensor to Sony Music Entertainment Africa.
Distributor
Believe
French digital distributor and label-services company with named African operations via its TuneCore offices in Lagos and South Africa.
Live & Events
Big Concerts
South African concert promoter founded in 1989 by Attie van Wyk, in which Live Nation Entertainment took a controlling interest in 2016.
Live & Events
Big Concerts International
South Africa's largest concert promoter, founded in 1989, majority-owned by Live Nation Entertainment since 2016.
Label
Blaqboy Music Corporation (Pty) Ltd
South African record label founded by DJ Maphorisa, operated as a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment Africa.
Label
Blue Note Africa
Jazz imprint launched 2022 by Blue Note Records and Universal Music Africa to sign African jazz talent.
Label
Blue Note Records
New York jazz label that signs and releases jazz recordings and lends its name as a territorial label credit.
Label
BMG Records Africa (Pty) Ltd
Johannesburg record label that carried the BMG name in South Africa from 1992 until the 2004 Sony BMG merger; no confirmed corporate link to today's BMG Rights Management.
Label
Bokone Music
South African record label built around founder Don Laka's own catalogue, formed after Kalawa Jazmee's 2001 split; releases have gone out under licence to majors rather than through its own distribution.
Label
Born in Soweto CC
South African close corporation named as a phonogram claimant on Prince Kaybee releases of 2015 and 2016, alongside Universal Music (Pty) Ltd (ZA).
Live & Events
Bridges for Music Academy
Cape Town non-profit music academy in Langa that trains township youth in DJing, production and music business, and runs its own label arm, BFM Records.
Collecting Society
CAPASSO
South African mechanical and digital rights licensing agency, based in Johannesburg.
Label
CashTime Life
Defunct South African record label, publishing and management company (2013-2018) founded by rapper K.O in Johannesburg, home of the CashTime Fam hip-hop collective.
Label
CCP Records Company (Pty) Ltd
South African record label and Brenda Fassie's historic home, now a legacy catalogue imprint wholly owned by Universal Music Group.
Distributor
Coleske Artists
South African distributor and Afrikaans-repertoire label, acquired by Warner Music South Africa in 2021.
Label
Coleske Group Proprietary Ltd.
Pretoria-based Afrikaans-repertoire record label and live-events company, independent from 1996 until Warner Music South Africa acquired it in 2021.
Collecting Society
Composers, Authors and Publishers Association of South Africa
South Africa's mechanical rights collecting society, formed in 2014 by a merger of SAMRO's mechanical rights arm and NORM.
Label
Cotton Club Records
Johannesburg label founded by the late rapper Riky Rick in 2017, with a recording tie-up through Sony Music Africa.
Distributor
David Gresham Records
Long-running South African independent record, distribution and publishing company in Johannesburg.
Label
Def Jam Africa
Universal Music Group's African Def Jam label, launched 26 May 2020 with offices in Johannesburg and Lagos.
Label
Devo Entity Holdings (Pty) Ltd
South African rights-holding company credited on self-released recordings from 2021 to 2022.
Label
Devo Music Group (Pty) Ltd
South African label company credited on two self-released 2023 singles.
Distributor
Ditto Music
UK independent distributor operating as Ditto Music Africa from South Africa, Ghana and Nigeria.
Distributor
Electromode
Johannesburg distributor of independent South African music, acquired by Ingrooves in 2021.
Label
Emazulwini Production and Projects (Pty) Ltd
South African record company owned by Nomcebo Zikode, formed after her dispute with Open Mic Productions over Jerusalema royalties.
Label
Family Tree Records
South African hip-hop label founded by Cassper Nyovest in 2014, in partnership with Universal Music South Africa since 2018.
Label
FAX Records
South African-linked record label holding the master rights to Tyla's recordings, licensed onward to Epic Records.
Label
Gallo Music
South Africa's oldest independent record label and publisher, based in Johannesburg since 1926 and majority-owned by Arena Holdings since 2020.
Publisher
Gallo Music Publishers
South African music publisher, part of Gallo Music Investments (Arena Holdings, with Black Coffee a minority shareholder).
Label
Gallo Record Company
The oldest record company in South Africa, founded in Johannesburg in 1926.
Label
Gipa Entertainment
South African amapiano label and management company based in Midrand, Gauteng, home to LeeMcKrazy, Mellow & Sleazy and Scotts Maphuma.
Label
Jazmee Records
Trompies-linked kwaito label that merged with Kalawa Records in 1994/95 to form Kalawa Jazmee Records.
Studio
Jazzworx
Long-running Johannesburg recording and audio-production studio in Bryanston, serving South African music, film and advertising clients.
Technology
JO:LA Labs
South African music-tech company founded 2026 by Thabiso Khati, maker of the AI business platform Roster for artists and managers.
Joburg Theatre
Johannesburg performing-arts venue staging opera, ballet, musicals and live concerts.
Live & Events
Joy of Jazz festival
Annual Johannesburg jazz festival produced by T-Musicman since 1997, title-sponsored by Standard Bank.
Label
Kalawa Jazmee
Independent South African kwaito and house label founded in Johannesburg in 1992 by Oskido, Don Laka and Christos Katsaitis.
Label
Kamo Mphela Entertainment
South African artist imprint holding Kamo Mphela's own recorded catalogue, first credited in April 2021.
Media
Kaya 959
Johannesburg commercial Afropolitan music and talk station, on air since 1997.