TONO recorded its best year financially in 2015 with a profit for distribution of 492 million, almost 20 percent better than the previous year. The greatest growth is found in foreign revenues, which increased by 23,7 percent, and streaming revenues, which increased by 17,7 percent.
/ 21/03/2016 / codex
TONO increased its total revenues again in 2015, with gross revenues reaching NOK 588,5 million, before losses and statutory deductions to the Norwegian Composers' Fund (managed by the Ministry of Culture). This corresponds to an increase in gross revenues of NOK 83,5 million from the previous year, when the corresponding figures were kr 505 million. Profit after deduction of operating costs, which go entirely to the licensees, was kr NOK 492 million.
– We are naturally happy about a year with a turnover of almost 600 million kroner. Despite the growth, the work is not without challenges. Copyright is being challenged, and we see, among other things, that EU legislation exempts various social media from paying copyright holders, even though there is now heavy documentation that these media earn enormous amounts of money from music and other intangible content that flows through their services, says Cato Strøm, CEO of TONO.
The use of Norwegian-written music accounts for approximately 40 percent of TONO's total revenue. The remainder is thus sent to TONO's sister societies in other countries. In streaming services, the proportion of Norwegian music is low, only approximately 12 percent of the music streamed in Norway is Norwegian-written.
Revenue from the use of TONO's repertoire abroad in 2015 was kr 43,5 million. The previous year, the same income was kr 35,2 million, an increase of approximately NOK 8,3 million (23,7 percent) from 2014 to 2015, and thus accounts for the largest percentage increase in revenue. The most significant increase comes from Sweden (40,9 percent), Germany (30 percent) and France (69,4 percent).
– The growth is a result of increased use of Norwegian music abroad, at the same time as Norwegian music is used more in foreign TV productions and films. The growth is also due to the weakening of the krone exchange rate against other currencies, says Strøm.
The media area is the largest revenue area for TONO, with almost 400 million kroner, including online. Here, streaming accounts for the largest revenue growth of 17,7 percent. A settlement between Norwaco and their customers has given the rights holders income from previous years.
– We are pleased with the streaming growth when you see it in context: For some years, the online area has been characterized by various international constellations, typically the largest music publishers, extracting their repertoire from the management companies' management in the online area and directly licensing this themselves. The growth comes from both music and film streaming services, says Strøm. – At the same time, TONO is experiencing challenges in the media area, both related to VOD services and TV, and it is demanding to get both broadcasters and distributors to pay for the rights exploitation that is now happening on more and more platforms in parallel.
The background music area (hotels, restaurants, pubs and the like) also experienced a growth in revenue of 5,89 percent from 2014. In 2015, revenue was NOK 62,6 million. In the concert area, revenue in 2015 was NOK 60 million, a percentage increase from 2014 of 6,13 percent, from kr 56,6 millions.
– There is a lot of activity in the Norwegian concert market. We are putting even more effort into information campaigns and working to establish even closer contact with the market, says Strøm.
TONO gained 1,575 new members in 2015, of which 15 were music publishers. In total, TONO had 27,756 members at the end of 2015. During 2015, TONO's members registered over 29,000 new musical works with TONO.
The figures in this press release are a summary of TONO's key figures for 2015. The complete accounts will be published in TONO's annual report, which will be published in May/June.
For more information:
Willy Martinsen, communications manager at TONO, mobile 909 65 254, willy.martinsen@tono.no.
About TONO:
TONO is a non-profit cooperative, founded in 1928, owned and managed by its members: composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers. TONO manages performance rights for musical works in Norway and collects remuneration for their public performance. TONO currently represents nearly 27,500 Norwegian composers, lyricists and music publishers. Through mutual representation agreements with similar companies in other countries, TONO practically manages the entire world repertoire in Norway. TONO's results are transferred to the rights holders of performed works, and thus TONO facilitates the use of music in society, while at the same time providing TONO's members with a basis for constantly creating new musical works.