TONO is introducing new terms and conditions for concert organizers, which set clearer requirements for applications for performances, reporting of concerts and deadlines. Based on new legal framework conditions, the terms and conditions also give concert organizers the opportunity to disclose performances of works that are not managed by TONO, and receive a proportional reduction in the remuneration payment.
/ 07/11/2022 / Willy MartinsenThe new terms and conditions come into effect on 7 November and emphasise, among other things, that concert organisers must apply to TONO for permission to perform TONO's repertoire well in advance of the event. The terms and conditions now also require stricter reporting after the event has taken place and that income other than ticket revenue may be taken into account in special cases to ensure fair remuneration for composers and lyricists.
Based on European legal developments, including the directive on collective management, which has also recently been implemented in Norwegian law, a reduction factor is also being introduced for concerts where, in addition to musical works from TONO's repertoire, works that TONO does not manage are also performed.
– With the reduction scheme that TONO is introducing, concert organizers can now state in their applications and music reports to TONO what percentage of the concert's playing time consists of works that are not managed by TONO. The remuneration payment to TONO is then reduced proportionally based on the concert organizer's information. We will conduct random samples of such reports, but it is the organizer's responsibility to ensure that the information we receive is correct, says Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO.
In the absence of reports or inadequate reporting, TONO will determine and invoice compensation for the event based on the information available to TONO. TONO's new terms and conditions for concerts emphasize that it is not permitted to hold an event where music managed by TONO is played without TONO's permission.
See the new terms and conditions for concerts and events here.
There is a connection between TONO's concert income and how much money TONO has for concert payments to composers and lyricists.
– In isolation, the reduction scheme could result in TONO receiving somewhat lower concert revenues. We will of course still work to ensure that songwriters, composers, lyricists and music publishers have the strongest possible position in the Norwegian concert economy in the future, says Martinsen.
If you are a TONO member who has questions about this, please contact medlem@tono.noIf you are a concert organizer and have questions about how this affects you, contact marked@tono.no. You can also call TONO on 22 05 72 00.
See questions and answers about TONO's new terms and conditions for concert organizers at the bottom of this page.
TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by composers, lyricists and music publishers, and which, on their behalf, manages the economic copyrights in the music they have created. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music on radio, TV, the internet, concerts and cinemas, etc., for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders of music that has been played publicly. TONO has more than 38,000 members in Norway, but also works for millions of authors and music publishers from around the world. TONO gives music creators an economic basis to create new music, and collects and simplifies the licensing of protected music to music users. TONO had a turnover of NOK 843,9 million in 2021.
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO, mob 909 65 254, willy.martinsen (a) tono.no
Why is TONO introducing a reduction factor in the concert area?
New legal framework conditions in the EEA require that companies use the most objective criteria possible when calculating remuneration. TONO will handle this with a so-called reduction factor in the concert area. In order for TONO to be able to invoice only for our repertoire performed at concerts, where works outside our management are also performed, it is the organizers' responsibility to report timely and correctly.
What does the reduction factor mean for concert organizers – in short?
If works are performed that TONO does not manage, the organizers can state this in their TONO reports and receive a lower invoice that is proportional to the amount of TONO repertoire that has been performed. In the reports on performed works, the organizers must mark which works they believe are not in TONO's management, and calculate in percentage what proportion of the concert's playing time (in minutes) has consisted of TONO-managed works. TONO will invoice the customer based on this percentage.
This means that for a 100-minute concert, where 90 of these minutes are under TONO's management, TONO will invoice based on those 90 minutes.
The minimum wage of NOK 712 is not covered by the scheme.
What must concert organizers do to obtain a reduction factor for concerts where both works TONO manages and works TONO does not manage are performed?
No later than 10 days after the event, the organizer must complete and return the form the organizer received when the permit was granted. The organizer must fill in the number of listeners, gross ticket revenue and a repertoire/playlist. If music is played at the event that the organizer believes is not managed by TONO (i.e. which is no longer protected by copyright or where the author has not transferred management to TONO) and the organizer wishes the fee to be reduced proportionately, the organizer must also state which works this applies to, as well as the playing time for each individual work at the event and the total playing time at the event.
How does TONO relate to old non-protected works that have been registered with new protected arrangements in TONO?
Such works are managed by TONO, and therefore no reduction factor is given for this.
Do Norwegian cultural centers and others that have entered into permanent agreements with TONO have to apply in advance for each concert to receive a reduction factor?
Cultural centers and others with permanent agreements with TONO already have a permit through the agreement they have signed with TONO. They will therefore continue as they have done previously.
What does this mean for TONO members?
TONO members may be affected by this because if TONO receives lower concert revenues overall, we will have less money to distribute to songwriters, composers and lyricists for concert performances. It is too early to say what the effect of the reduction factor will be in the long term.