Cape Town  Music Exchange (MEX) will welcome an exceptional delegation of five senior executives from the Southern African Music Rights Organisation (SAMRO) to Cape Town for MEX26 on Saturday, 31 October 2026, bringing some of the organisation’s most experienced decision-makers to the conference. 

Led by SAMRO CEO Annabell Lebethe, the delegation will include senior executives responsible for licensing and sales, legal services, member services and corporate social investment.

Their collective experience and industry authority will give MEX26 delegates a rare opportunity to hear directly from the people dealing every day with the issues that determine whether music creators are protected, properly represented and able to earn sustainable income from their work. 

For 16 years, Music Exchange has worked from one simple principle: a conference should deliver outcomes.

Delegates should leave with more than inspiration. They will take away practical knowledge, valuable contacts, a clearer understanding of the entertainment economy, and information they can put to work immediately. 

That philosophy will again drive #MEX26, taking place in Cape Town under the theme: Navigating Today’s Entertainment Economy: Strategies, Skills and Opportunities for Success. 

THE FUTURE OF THE ENTERTAINMENT ECONOMY

SAMRO CEO Annabell Lebethe will bring a strategic leadership perspective to MEX26 in a discussion focused on the Future of the Entertainment Economy.

Lebethe is a seasoned arts and culture executive with more than two decades of leadership experience in South Africa’s creative sector. Before joining SAMRO as CEO, she served as CEO of Ditsong Museums of South Africa and previously led the Market Theatre Foundation. She also served as interim CEO of the Performing Arts Centre of the Free State, where she drove organisational stabilisation, governance reforms and strategic turnaround initiatives. 

Her extensive leadership experience across major South African cultural institutions gives her a unique perspective on the intersection of creativity, governance, sustainability and economic opportunity. 

LICENSE: COMPLIANCE CREATES OPPORTUNITY Karabo Senna, SAMRO General Manager: Licensing and Sales, will unpack an area fundamental to the music economy but still frequently misunderstood: licensing. 

Senna previously spent four years as SAMRO’s General Manager for Member Services, working closely with composers, authors and music publishers. His passion lies in education and empowering musicians to understand how royalty income works and, critically, how creators can manage themselves and their careers as businesses. 

His MEX26 discussion, Compliance Creates Opportunity, will examine why licensing should not simply be viewed as an obligation, but as part of a functioning ecosystem that allows creators to be compensated for the use of their work.

PROTECT: COPYRIGHT, FAIR USE AND THE LAW 

Few issues are more important to creators right now than copyright protection. Chola Makgamathe, SAMRO General Manager: Legal Services, will address the Copyright Amendment Bill and Fair Use, bringing significant legal expertise to one of the most consequential debates facing South Africa’s creative industries.

An admitted attorney, Makgamathe holds an LLM from the University of the Witwatersrand focusing on Cyber Law, Intellectual Property Law, Media Law and Telecommunications Law. 

She has been closely involved in advocacy surrounding South Africa’s Copyright Amendment Bill and the subsequent Constitutional Court process and is actively involved in developing data protection and AI governance strategies and policies. 

For songwriters, composers, publishers and other rights holders, this promises to be one of MEX26’s essential conversations. 

INVEST: INVESTING IN CREATIVITY Lesego Maforah, SAMRO Manager: CSI & Special Projects, will focus on Investing in Creativity and the role strategic investment can play in strengthening South Africa’s cultural and artistic community.

Maforah develops and implements initiatives that support musicians and artists across South Africa, with expertise spanning social innovation, project management, sustainability, and the use of music as a tool for positive social change. 

His session will broaden the conversation beyond royalties to examine how meaningful investment in creative talent can strengthen and sustain the cultural economy. 

MONETISE: DON’T LEAVE MONEY ON THE TABLE 

For creators building sustainable careers, understanding where income comes from is crucial. Nobambo Goduka, SAMRO General Manager: Member Services, will present Don’t Leave Money on the Table, focusing on member services, royalty administration, and the importance of creators understanding the value of their intellectual property.

Goduka leads member engagement, service delivery, and stakeholder relations for more than 146,000 composers, authors, and music publishers across Southern Africa.

With more than 13 years of leadership experience across communications, stakeholder management and strategic partnerships, she has played an important role in strengthening member value, organisational sustainability and music copyright administration. 

She also serves as a Trustee on the SAMRO Retirement Annuity Fund Board, contributing to the governance and long-term sustainability of member benefits. 

ACCESS TO THE PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THE BUSINESS

For MEX founder and convener Martin Myers, bringing this level of SAMRO leadership to Cape Town speaks directly to what Music Exchange has tried to achieve since its inception.

“Creators hear words like copyright, licensing, royalties, fair use and monetisation all the time. But understanding how these things actually work can be the difference between having a song and building a sustainable career from your music,” says Myers. 

“What excites us about SAMRO’s participation at MEX26 is the calibre and breadth of the team they are bringing to Cape Town. Delegates aren’t simply hearing theory. They are engaging with senior executives who work with these issues every day and who can answer the difficult questions creators need to ask.” 

MEX26 sessions are deliberately focused, generally limited to 30 minutes, allowing conversations to remain sharp and practical while providing time for questions, discussion and networking.

SAMRO joins a growing MEX26 programme featuring respected local and international voices from across the creative economy, including Gallo Music, Breaking Wave Group (BWG), Kopton Music, CapeTalk, Academy of Sound Engineering, The Brightspark Coach and many more.

After 16 years, the MEX proposition remains straightforward: Knowledge must lead to opportunity. 

And when some of the people responsible for protecting, licensing, developing and monetising South African music come to Cape Town together, creators should be in the room. 

MEX26
Saturday, 31 October 2026
Fire & Ice Hotel
Cape Town

#MEX26