What would TV, radio and film be without music?
Hard to imagine! As the rights holders' own management organization, TONO facilitates the use of all the world's music in the public domain. All broadcasters and cinemas pay an annual fee to TONO for the right to disseminate protected music.
Broadcasters in Norway are responsible for reporting the music they use. In order to report effectively to TONO, they rely on Music Cue sheets from the production companies. Based on this information, TONO settles money to the rights holders.
For TV channels broadcasting in Norway, negotiated prices and contract terms apply. If you want to use music and images together, also called audiovisual production, various permits are required. Audiovisual productions can be, for example, TV programs, commercials, feature films, documentaries or short films. These permits are administered by NCB. Read more at NCB websites.
We only use "box/production music", why should we deal with TONO?
Purchases of boxed music do not include performance rights. TONO must quality assure all music use in Norwegian productions in order to be able to accurately bill composers and lyricists, and therefore we need 100 percent overview of all music use.
Should we report music to TONO even if we have only used it for a few seconds?
Yes, the length of time the music is used does not affect the composer's right to remuneration for the use.
Why should the production company report to TONO, we have already agreed on music and royalties with the composer?
If you are going to use music in a production, you must first clarify the fees and synchronization fees.
(either with NCB, the composer directly or the person's music publisher). If already recorded music is used, this must also be cleared with the record company that owns the recording. TONO, on the other hand, comes first.
into the picture when the production is actually shown to the public. The company responsible for this must pay TONO and report what kind of music was used.
Production companies must inform broadcasters about the type of music used in the films and TV programs they produce. In 2021, a new Cue Sheet was developed for this purpose, which has been established as an international industry standard and is therefore used at all levels of the industry – worldwide. You can find this form further down this page.
remember that absolutely all music used must be reported together in this form, whether the music is commissioned music for the production, existing recorded music or box/production music. All music must be reported with title and rights holder/composer, including box/production music.
NOTE: Only send one form per program/episode.
Are you missing the correct composer/lyricist? If so, these websites can be useful references:
allmusic.com
discogs.com
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
findthetune.com
audionetwork.com
TONO has negotiated a framework agreement with the Norwegian Media Companies Association for the conclusion of individual agreements with the individual local TV concessionaires in Norway, where, among other things, both parties agree that the agreement text and remuneration shall be the basis for individual agreements. The agreement is intended to regulate the right to broadcast and the right to remuneration for broadcasting musical works that TONO manages in accordance with the Copyright Act. Each year, TONO sends an information form that is completed and returned so that the basis for the correct remuneration for the calendar year can be determined.
TONO facilitates the use of music for radio stations broadcasting in Norway, whether at the national or local level and/or web radio. For information about web radio, read more here: TONO.NO/CUSTOMER/ONLINE
What should be submitted to TONO – and when?
TONO grants a license for the use of music in local radio based on the radio station submitting information about its activities through an information form at the beginning of the year. The information forms the basis for calculating the TONO fee for on-account billing in two installments. The final settlement is made the following year and after the accounts have been reviewed. The deadline for submitting accounts for the previous year is 20 August.
TONO's awards for local radio
The local radio station pays an annual fee for the right to broadcast TONO's repertoire. This is regardless of whether the channel is broadcast on FM and/or DAB.
The consideration is calculated as the greater of the following two models:
Revenue-based model:
A share of total annual revenues after a remuneration factor of 7,75%, adjusted based on the percentage of music that constitutes the local radio station's total broadcast time.
Calculation:
Total annual income x Total number of music lessons x 7,75
Total number of broadcast hours x 100
Music lesson pricing model:
Price per music hour x number of music hours the local radio station broadcasts during the year. The music hour price is defined by the number of weekly listeners:
| Tariff group | Population up to | or actual UK listeners* | Fee per music lesson |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100 000 | 10 000 | kr 10,- |
| 2 | 200 000 | 20 000 | kr 20,- |
| 3 | 300 000 | 30 000 | kr 30,- |
| 4 | 400 000 | 40 000 | kr 40,- |
| 5 | 500 000 | 50 000 | kr 50,- |
| 6 | 750 000 | 75 000 | kr 69,- |
| 7 | Phone: 1 000 000 | 100 000 | kr 92,- |
| 8 | Phone: 1 250 000 | 125 000 | kr 113,- |
| 9 | Phone: 1 500 000 | 150 000 | kr 131,- |
| Deretter | per started 25,000 | per started 25,000 | kr 18,- |
Additional remuneration for simulcast in 2025:
For simultaneous and unchanged retransmission of the FM/DAB broadcast radio channel on the broadcaster's own website to a limited audience of a maximum of 1000 simultaneous listeners, an additional fee of kr 924,- per month
Music hourly rate based on actual listening per capita:
If the local radio station does not have documentation of actual weekly listening, TONO will assume that listening corresponds to 10% of the population in the broadcasting area. For minority channels that broadcast at least 40% speech in minority languages evenly distributed over the broadcasting time, the music hourly rate in tariff group 1 is used.
Absolute annual minimum in 2025:
The annual TONO fee shall in any case not be less than kr 2.805, -.
As local radio stations use a larger proportion of local music compared to commercial radio stations, more accurate reporting of local radio stations' music use would be relevant to help promote local music creators. TONO facilitates such reporting, and local stations that wish to report to TONO can contact Ingrid Ostgard for more information about format and options.
A selection of radio stations shall send TONO reports on the works that have been included in the station's broadcasts in accordance with the specification below.
The reports must contain:
In addition, it is desirable that the reports contain:
Reports must be submitted for the entire year. The deadline for submission will be the 15th of each month for the previous month. If the information in accordance with points 1-6 above is provided, the music report is to be considered complete.
If complete reports have not been received by the deadline, TONO shall notify the radio station concerned of this, giving it a period of 2 weeks to correct the report(s).
TONO relies on accurate Music Cue Sheets to be able to settle money to those who have created the music in the films. The film producers are the ones who can give us the correct information.
Cinemas pay 1,00% of ticket revenue (excl. VAT) to TONO. The fee paid to TONO applies to the performance of the music in the films, which is then paid to the film music composers.
We only use "box/production music", why should we deal with TONO?
Purchases of boxed music do not include performance rights. TONO must quality assure all music use in Norwegian productions in order to be able to accurately bill composers and lyricists, and therefore we need 100 percent overview of all music use.
Should we report music to TONO even if we have only used it for a few seconds?
Yes, the length of time the music is used does not affect the composer's right to remuneration for the use.
Why should the production company report to TONO, we have already agreed on music and royalties with the composer?
If you are going to use music in a production, you must first clarify the fees and synchronization fees.
(either with NCB, the composer directly or the person's music publisher). If already recorded music is used, this must also be cleared with the record company that owns the recording. TONO, on the other hand, comes first.
into the picture when the production is actually shown to the public. The company responsible for this must pay TONO and report what kind of music was used.
To make the path from music use to copyright holders' remuneration as short and simple as possible, TONO and NCB have a form that makes music reporting efficient and clear.
Absolutely all music should be reported collectively in the form below, whether it concerns commissioned music, existing music or box/production music. Remember to indicate what is commissioned music.
This is what you do:
1. Download this form:
Cue Sheet for reporting from film producers
2. Fill in all the information
3. Finally, send the form to TONO and NCB
Are you missing the right composer/lyricist?
Useful websites for finding correct composers/lyricists:
allmusic.com
discogs.com
en.wikipedia.org
en.wikipedia.org
findthetune.com
audionetwork.com
Cinemas pay 1% of ticket revenue (excl. VAT) in TONO fees.
This is invoiced monthly based on ticket revenues from the previous month. The figures are obtained from FilmWeb.
For film screenings without admission/ticket revenue, the TONO fee is NOK 1 per visitor.
(Minimum rate for monthly invoicing: NOK 500)