Summer is long over. CEO Karl Vestli tells us what TONO's board and administration are up to this fall.
/ 05/09/2025 / Willy MartinsenCollective management of music rights creates value. In 2024, TONO paid out NOK 742 million to authors and publishers in Norway and the rest of the world. Halfway through 2025, revenues are above forecasts.
– We are happy with the development, music creates ever greater value for our customers, but we are also concerned with further developing ourselves and our product. Members and customers will gain more insight, better solutions and closer dialogue with us. This sets the direction for our work this fall.
– What do you mean by “greater insight”?
– First and foremost, clearer explanations of where payments to members come from and how settlements are made. The new settlement model we are now introducing facilitates this, and we are working on solutions that will allow members in 2026 to see where the music is used and what is behind the payments.
– And what do you mean by “better solutions”?
– We are investing in new technology and new ways of working. Internally, we are already seeing results, and more will be visible to customers and members next year. Members and customers will experience simpler, more precise, efficient and predictable services.
– What does “closer dialogue” mean?
– For members, it will be about more meeting places, better information about the funds we manage, and that they simply feel at home in TONO. For customers, it means listening to needs, ensuring that we have reasonable tariffs, and simplifying licensing.
TONO recently announced that the Polaris hub is being shut down. Koda, Teosto and TONO, who together owned this licensing hub for music streaming services, are each going their separate ways in search of new partners.
– Polaris hub was a success, but we have to think bigger in the ever-increasing competition. We are looking beyond the Nordics, and are in concrete dialogue. If things go as we wish, we can soon announce a new collaboration. The goal is more agreements, better conditions and better and faster streaming payments than before, says Vestli.
TONO's 44,000 members have different needs.
– We will discuss how we can offer a more customized service. The membership is very diverse. A publisher, a songwriter who works internationally and a hobby composer all have very different needs and expectations of us as the manager of their rights, says Vestli.
The concert tariff is also on the agenda this fall:
– After dialogue with the organizing field over the past year, we have received constructive feedback on the changes we planned. Therefore, we are now taking a step back and establishing a working group with representatives from both organizers and members. The goal is to see if we can create a better model.
The settlement model that was adopted in 2024 is now being introduced faster than planned.
– The new settlement model follows the Collective Management Act and provides more precise and correct payments. For some, the changes mean lower payments, especially from concerts that have previously received money from other licensing areas, while others will receive higher payments. The important thing is that the link between income and payments becomes clear, says Vestli.
The model is already being used for the September payment.
Like most other collective management companies in Europe, TONO draws cultural funds. TONO's statutes state that up to 8 percent of the settlements can be drawn for scholarships and national music and cultural purposes.
The latter is managed by TONO's group associations. The funds are to be used for the best interests of all TONO members.
– The arrangements have been more or less unchanged for many years, and this fall the board and administration will look at whether current practice is the best, or whether there is room for development.
Another scheme that will be discussed is the Norwegian Composers' Fund. The state deducts 2 percent of TONO's income to this fund. It has its background in the "Act on the Contribution to the Norwegian Composers' Fund", from 1965.
– The fund is important for many members, but one can ask whether it is in principle right that the state has a support scheme for authors that the authors themselves must finance. Perhaps there are other ways to finance it? At the same time, the move extends beyond all TONO members, without all groups in the membership, such as publishers, being able to apply. TONO's board has asked the administration to further investigate different strategies for how TONO should relate to the Norwegian Composers' Fund.
The policy also affects TONO when it comes to cultural VAT and artificial intelligence.
– The VAT regulations are still unclear, and even though we at TONO have given guarantees to our members that they will not be charged for VAT claims on author income, it creates uncertainty. We have worked with politicians and the Ministry of Finance, and will continue the work this autumn, linked to the new government and parliament. We want a solution adapted to today's music creators and that lays the foundation for growth and export. At the same time, we must also take into account the diversity of the organizers and the volunteerism, says Vestli.
Vestli is also interested in artificial intelligence, probably the biggest technological change in our industry ever:
– We are positive about, and embrace, all the opportunities that technology creates. But copyright must be respected. We are therefore now particularly concerned about the EU's plans for the introduction of the Ki regulation, where the balance has tipped sharply in favor of technology companies. Here we will make the voice of copyright holders heard both to the EU and Norwegian politicians, concludes Vestli.