In one of the most exciting initiatives seen in recent years, the South African music industry has formed a broad-based alliance of stakeholders under the banner the South African Music Industry Co-operation Initiative (SAMICI).

SAMICI was formed in 2003 in response to several pressing issues affecting the industry as a whole – in particular, music piracy, the need to develop music markets for South African music (especially beyond the country's borders) and the urgent need to create a social benefit and welfare programme for musicians. SAMICI'S on-going objective is much broader than this, however, and a full-tilt move towards unity and growth in the domestic industry is the foundation of the alliance's vision.

SAMICI also takes its cue from several policies emanating from the Department of Arts and Culture (DAC) over the years. Among these were the White Paper on Arts, Culture and Heritage (1995) and more critically (flowing from the White Paper) the Cultural Industries Growth Strategy (CIGS, 1998), and the Music Industry Task Team (MITT, 2000).

In line with the South African government's approach to private and public partnerships, SAMICI has, as its foundation, a strong relationship between private entities as well as the Department of Arts and Culture, the Department of Trade and Industry and ICASA (the Independent Communications Authority)..

Unity is a strong feature of SAMICI – for the first time many different stakeholders and role-players in the industry have joined together to work for growth as well as tackling the issues of piracy and the need for a social welfare programme.

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