In a week, music creators and publishers will influence the future of Norway's largest music organization. The annual meeting is the highest authority, but only a few of the approximately 6000 with voting rights will show up. Meet four of them and read why they choose to use their voices.
/ 02/06/2026 / Helene Rognøy/Kristian DugstadThe annual meeting is TONO's highest authority and is held once a year. Here the board, chairman and committees are elected, and the statutes can be changed, and thus how the organization is run. All members who meet an income requirement have the right to vote and can participate. This applies to around 6000 of TONO's 46,000 members.
Yet, there are usually only a few hundred who show up physically, participate digitally, or authorize others.
When so few people participate, member democracy becomes less representative. That is why TONO is working to make the annual meeting more accessible and easier to understand so that more people choose to participate and influence.
At this year's annual meeting on June 9, 2026 at 5:00 PM at Sentralen in Oslo, you will meet, among others, these four:
Lyricist and composer
Why is it important for you to attend TONO's annual meeting?
– TONO is owned by its members and therefore, as a member, I have the opportunity to influence the decisions made in TONO. Many of the most important decisions and resolutions are made at the annual meeting, so attending there is my opportunity to influence the way TONO is run.
Are you aware that TONO is a membership democracy?
– I am very aware of this. I served on TONO's board for 10 years as a representative and got to see the TONO system from the inside. In recent years, TONO has worked actively for transparency and information flow to its members. This also requires that as a member you become familiar with the issues that will be voted on and what consequences this has for further operations. The information provided to members has become very good in recent years.
Have you attended the annual meeting before?
– I have attended many annual meetings over the past 10 years.
Would you like to encourage other members with voting rights in TONO to participate?
– It is a great meeting place for songwriters and creators and a great opportunity to influence the direction TONO will take in the future.
Composer
Why is it important for you to attend TONO's annual meeting?
– I believe it is important to attend TONO's annual meeting to exercise your right to vote and show that you as an author have an opinion on how TONO is run. Exercising your right to vote and speak at the annual meeting shows that you as a member do not passively relate to the decisions that are made. It is important to have an opinion on how your own copyrights are managed and how we can achieve a management economy that benefits all members of TONO.
What does it mean that TONO is a membership democracy?
– Over the past year, I have become very aware that TONO is a democracy and that as a member I can help influence important decisions. I find that participating in the annual meeting gives me real influence, both through saying what I think and voting in line with it.
Have you attended the annual meeting before?
– I attended my first annual meeting in TONO last year.
Would you like to encourage other members with voting rights in TONO to participate?
– Absolutely! I believe that as many TONO members as possible should attend the annual meeting so that more voices are heard and more people can influence the work that is being done. If you cannot attend yourself, either physically or digitally, I would encourage you to give someone you know and trust a proxy. I would also recommend attending an information meeting prior to the annual meeting!
Music publisher
Why is it important for you to attend TONO's annual meeting?
– As representatives of two small music publishers, in a growing Norwegian music publishing industry, it is important for us to attend TONO's annual meeting to contribute with the publishers' perspectives, stay updated and participate in the discussion about the industry's development.
What does it mean that TONO is a membership democracy?
– TONO's democratic structure is important to us, and one of the reasons why we try to attend the annual meetings. It gives us better insight into how things actually work, the opportunity to influence a little where we can, and a chance to be involved in making the system even better over time.
VWould you encourage other members with voting rights in TONO to participate?
– Yes, absolutely. I encourage all TONO members who have the opportunity to participate, especially younger players who may not have discovered that this is also an arena for them. The more votes, the better the dialogue and stronger democracy in the organization. And in an industry with fewer and fewer meeting places, the annual meeting is a valuable mingling arena for those who can attend physically.
Composer
Why is it important for you to attend TONO's annual meeting?
– It is our best opportunity to help influence the decisions that are made.
What does it mean that TONO is a membership democracy?
–It is important to me, and here I think TONO has done a good job in terms of transparency and inclusion of the membership.
Have you attended the annual meeting before?
– Have participated on two previous occasions.
Would you like to encourage other members with voting rights in TONO to participate?
– The annual meeting is the members' premier arena for influencing important decisions. So my simple request is; "Meet on June 9th."
Register for the annual meeting physically or digitally now, or give your proxy to someone in the annual meeting portal. tono.meetando.no