Rune Kristoffersen and his record label Rune Grammofon have been awarded TONO's Media Prize 2023. – Since its inception, the record label has been synonymous with quality, says the jury.
/ 03/11/2023 / Willy MartinsenAmong a small circle of friends and collaborators in the offices of former winner of TONO's Mediation Prize, Grappa music publishing house in Oslo, Rune Kristoffersen was awarded the TONO Mediation Prize 2023 on November 2 for his work through his record label Rune Grammofon.
Among those present to pay tribute to Kristoffersen were Rune Grammofon artists Hedvig Mollestad and Espen Eriksen, Helge Westbye and the others in Grappa Musikkforlag, friend and collaborator Terje Pedersen from the record label Drabant – and Helene Rognøy and Willy Martinsen from TONO, who brought with them a diploma, the jury's statement – and a marzipan cake.
The jury states in its justification that Rune Grammofon has a clear profile for quality music, and that over its 25 years it has helped spread Norwegian music far beyond its borders:
– This is a very nice recognition after having run Rune Grammofon for 25 years. I have always been concerned that the record company should have a clear profile, both musically and visually. Illustrator Kim Hiorthøy has been involved from the start, and has designed approximately 250 record covers. I have also had an English PR agent for 20 years, which has also been important. I have prioritized the English music press, which is read all over the world. It has been important for getting the music across borders, he says.
Rune Kristoffersen established Rune Grammofon in 1998, and since its inception, the record label has been synonymous with quality. Kristoffersen has chosen the narrow path by prioritizing various experimental expressions with limited commercial potential, but Rune Grammofon has, during its 25 years, helped spread Norwegian music far beyond genre and country borders. Many Norwegian artists today benefit from the attention and reputation that Rune Grammofon and other players have created for Norwegian experimental music abroad.
Whereas TONO's EDVARD Prize is awarded to composers and lyricists who have created outstanding musical works and lyrics, TONO's Mediator Prize is awarded to people, organizations and companies who do exceptional work to communicate music to the public.
Previous recipients include the Øya Festival, Mannfred Eicher/ECM, music publishers such as Leif Dramstad and Kai Robøle, Tommy Tee, the Jazznytt blog "Now's the time", the hip-hop medium YLTV and others.
The jury for TONO's Mediator Award this year consisted of Sten Ove Toft (independent TONO member), Agnes Hvizdalek (Norwegian Composers' Association), Alexander Austheim (NOPA), Andrew Smith (Music Publishers), Martin Rane Bauck (Norwegian Composers' Association), Oda Svendsby (Music Publishers), Ole Børud (independent TONO member) and Samsaya Sharma (NOPA).
TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by composers, lyricists and music publishers, and which manages the economic copyrights in their musical works. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music on radio, TV, the internet, concerts, cinema, etc. for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders of music that has been performed publicly. TONO has more than 40,000 members, 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 864,6 million in 2022.
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO, willy.martinsen at tono.no, tel. +47,909 65,254