NRK and TONO's history runs side by side for 85 years. Broadcasting Director Thor Gjermund Eriksen is proud of the work NRK and TONO have done to promote Norwegian music.
/ 18/05/2018 / Willy MartinsenNRK and TONO's history runs side by side for 85 years. Broadcasting Director Thor Gjermund Eriksen is proud of the work NRK and TONO have done to promote Norwegian music.
– The history of TONO and NRK; they are two sides of the same coin.
This is what broadcasting manager Thor Gjermund Eriksen says when he looks back on the two companies' 85-year shared history.
– Ever since NRK's establishment in 1933 and until today, TONO and NRK have had a relationship that can be described as a symbiosis. Norwegian music has always been, and is, extremely important to NRK. Promoting Norwegian music is an essential part of our mission, and a job we are very proud of. The job TONO has done over 90 years has made it easier for us to promote and strengthen Norwegian music, says Eriksen.
NRK's predecessor, Oslo Kringkastingsselskap, was TONO's first customer. The size of the agreement between the companies today is significant, making the national broadcaster, headquartered at Marienlyst in Oslo, TONO's largest customer.
TONO's and NRK's history runs parallel in more ways than one. It's not just about promoting Norwegian music. It's also about handling ever-new technology.
and changes in how audiences consume music. Like TONO, NRK has had to be adaptable and embrace the new technological reality to constantly be the best.
It also means ensuring that the national broadcaster has something for everyone – and is the best in quality.
“We had to realize at some point that using us was voluntary,” says Eriksen, referring to the debate about the use of listener surveys that was going on in the Broadcasting Council in the late 1940s.
There, program editor Wildhagen stated: "In many ways, it is an advantage for the broadcaster that it is not in direct contact with its listeners, because then the broadcaster is completely free to choose its programs and not engage in audience courtship."
He received support from deputy chairman Paul Gjesdahl: "The next demand is probably that NRK must take into account the studies with the result that jazz and accordion will displace the symphony concerts."
– A lot has changed since then. And for people to actively choose us, we must constantly carry out our mission with a good balance between the familiar and the beloved, the new and the unknown, the narrow and the broad, he explains.
There is little doubt that NRK was almost synonymous with Norwegian music and cultural life for decades. But even after the media monopoly was broken, NRK has continued to lead the way as the foremost standard-bearer of Norwegian music.
– I believe NRK contributes to promoting Norwegian music life in three ways. Firstly, we provide free exposure of Norwegian music to the Norwegian audience. Secondly, we help to promote unknown music, which later becomes a commercial "breaker". We have very competent people there, and on this front, P3 has been particularly important for almost 30 years. And thirdly, we are an important source of funding for Norwegian music, says Eriksen.
The proportion of Norwegian music on the national broadcaster remains high. According to NRK's definition of Norwegian music, NRK P1 has a Norwegian proportion of 43 percent, while P3 boasts almost 46 percent. Maintaining a high proportion of Norwegian is important for NRK and for the Director of Broadcasting.
– TONO and NRK are historically part of the same project: the building of a nation and a culture. Norwegian music forms a community and gives us a common experience. It is something that holds us together. It still stands, he says.
The collaboration between NRK and TONO is close. There is ongoing collaboration around reporting, and TONO constantly receives detailed information in order to ensure the right remuneration for the right songwriter and composer – both here at home and abroad.
This involves daily contact, regular evaluation meetings and ongoing collaboration on the development of reporting solutions. All so that TONO can effectively arrange remuneration from NRK and out to approximately 30,000 Norwegian and well over 2,5 million foreign authors.
But for Thor Gjermund Eriksen it's about more than "business".
– Our collaboration has a very clear common basis, and is based on an ambition we share. Namely, to strengthen and elevate Norwegian culture and music. We have a common interest with TONO. Because as a public broadcaster, we are completely dependent on good Norwegian music – and vice versa, Eriksen states.
The broadcasting director believes that 90-year-old TONO is more vital than ever.
– The development we have, and have had, within Norwegian music life is a clear indication that TONO is functioning as TONO should function. There are many who have contributed throughout Norwegian music history, but TONO has always been a solid infrastructure and backbone for Norwegian music life.
Thor Gjermund Eriksen concludes with a greeting to TONO.
– I would like to congratulate 90-year-old TONO on his anniversary, and thank him for a fantastic collaboration over 85 years. At the same time, I would like to express my pride that together we
has been able to lift the Norwegian music scene throughout all these years. TONO does an important job for Norwegian songwriters and composers by organizing and stimulating the Norwegian music scene - for the best of creativity and for the audience.