Membership and terms

On this page you will find TONO's membership agreement, membership terms and distribution tables.

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TONO'S MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT

1. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT

A membership agreement is hereby entered into between the licensee and TONO as referred to in Sections 6 and 7 of TONO's articles of association. The provisions of this agreement are at all times subject to TONO's articles of association and the provisions adopted pursuant thereto.

The copyright holder transfers to TONO for exclusive management the rights of a copyright nature that the copyright holder currently owns, and – for as long as this agreement is in force – will later own, with the limitations agreed pursuant to Section 7 of TONO's articles of association. TONO's rights of disposal include:

a. the right of performance, the right of transmission and the right of sound fixation of musical works with or without lyrics, excluding the right of performance of music-dramatic works.

b. the performance rights to music-dramatic works if agreed in a specially established "Additional Agreement on the Management of Music-Dramatic Rights"

TONO's right of disposal does not, however, include non-commercial use, cf. point 5, the copyright holder's moral rights pursuant to Section 5 of the Copyright Act and the right to consent to adaptations of the copyright holder's work pursuant to Section 6, first paragraph of the Copyright Act. The aforementioned rights remain with the copyright holder.

Any agreement regarding the exploitation of works that TONO manages shall be entered into by TONO, or the person authorized by TONO. The remuneration for such exploitation shall be paid to TONO or the person authorized by TONO to receive the remuneration. Nor may the rightholder himself enter into an agreement regarding the exploitation of works that TONO manages, or receive direct payment for such exploitation from users of works, as long as the membership agreement is in force. (However, see any additional agreement for music-dramatic works.)

If, prior to registration with TONO, the copyright holder has entered into an agreement to transfer the copyright to works that TONO will manage, the copyright holder is obliged to inform TONO of this. In such cases, the copyright holder shall, upon request, send TONO a copy of the transfer agreement, so that TONO can determine its scope.

TONO has the right and obligation to manage the copyright holder's and all other copyright holders' works in the common interest. TONO also has the right and obligation to protect the copyright holder against infringement of the rights that TONO has the right to dispose of under this agreement. TONO therefore has the right, on behalf of the copyright holder, to request prosecution and punishment, as well as to demand an injunction and to make claims for remuneration and compensation and other sanctions in the event of any infringement of the copyright holder's rights under the Copyright Act that may occur. TONO also has the right, if necessary, to take legal action to recover remuneration from third parties.

2. RIGHTS CATEGORIES

The rights holder may limit its transfer to TONO's management, so that TONO only manages certain categories of rights. TONO divides the rights into the following categories:

1. Recording on audio media
2. Recording on audiovisual media
3. Synchronizing
4. General public performance
5. Broadcasting on radio and television
6. Internett

In addition, the rights can be divided geographically.

If the rights holder wishes to limit their transfer by withdrawing a rights category from TONO's management, this can be done by contacting TONO's member service in connection with the conclusion of this membership agreement, or with a notice period of six months until the end of a calendar year.

An extraction of a rights category will include all of the member's works in the relevant rights category. It is not possible to extract management at the work level or, for example, works from a specific publisher.

3. PAYMENT OF REMUNERATION

For the exploitation of the rights that occurs pursuant to this agreement, TONO is obliged to pay remuneration to the licensee in accordance with TONO's articles of association in force at any time and the provisions that have been or will be adopted pursuant to these.

4. REGISTRATION OF WORKS

The copyright holder is obliged, at the same time as entering into this agreement, to register with TONO the works in his possession, and to gradually register new works as described at any time in TONO's membership terms or other provisions. It is a condition for receiving remuneration for the use of a work that it has been correctly registered.

5. NON-COMMERCIAL USE, ETC.

The licensee may itself grant permission for such use that is not covered by TONO's exclusive management pursuant to points 1 and 2, including non-commercial use of rights or categories of rights. TONO's board has set out further conditions for what is to be understood as non-commercial use in this context:

• It is not crucial who uses the music, but the specific activity must:
  • be driven by idealistic interests (humanitarian, political, religious),
  • be non-commercial, and not in competition with other providers in a market, and
  • be clearly separated from any other professional activities of the actor.

• You must inform TONO's member service before the licensing takes place.
• You may only license your own musical works or your own portions of musical works. • The licensing must be without payment from the user.
• The license is valid for one year. Upon extension, you must inform TONO again so that we can assess whether the use is still non-commercial.

6. TRANSFER OF RIGHTS

If the licensee dies while this agreement is in effect, his or her rights and obligations under the agreement will pass to the person or persons who inherit the rights by law or will.

7. TERMINATION OF THE AGREEMENT – TERMINATION

This agreement terminates:

a. six months after TONO has received written notice of termination from a licensee, but not before the end of a calendar year. The board may decide to shorten the deadline in individual cases.

b. when the rights holder no longer has composer or lyricist rights.

MEMBERSHIP TERMS

(ADDITIONAL TO TONO'S MEMBERSHIP AGREEMENT)

These terms and conditions may be amended by TONO's board, with the exception of items 10 to 15 which until further notice fall under the competence of the annual meeting, cf. resolution at TONO's annual meeting on June 10, 2025.

Registration of musical works

1. The rightholder shall, in the manner determined by the board, register with TONO the musical works in which he or she has rights. A music publisher may register musical works on behalf of other rightholders. If registration has not taken place at the latest in connection with the musical work being made available to the public, or within the deadline determined by the board, the right to settlement for the year in question shall lapse.

2. The registration shall contain the following information:

a) The title and nature of the musical work, number of movements and independent parts
b) Rights holders in the musical work
c) Estimated playing time for the entire musical work and independent parts of it
d) Additional information deemed necessary

3. If there is doubt as to whether the work can be registered as eligible for settlement, cf. point 7, TONO may require a copy of the musical work in written and/or recorded form to be sent. If documentation in such a case is not provided within a reasonable time, the case will be decided on the basis of the available information. The decision may be appealed to the music and lyrics committee, cf. point 16.

Consent from all copyright holders in the work must be available before the work is registered. TONO may at any time require documentation that such consent has been given. If it proves impossible to contact the copyright holder and it must be assumed that the copyright holder would have given consent, the administration may approve the work without such documentation. The decision may be appealed to the music and lyrics committee.

4. Consent as mentioned in point 3, second paragraph does not give the right to a share in the settlement amount of the musical work unless there is written confirmation from the author or from his or her publisher that such a share is given.

5. Deliberately incorrect information in connection with the registration of a musical work may result in the management contract being terminated, cf. Section 6 (6) of the Articles of Association.

6. For musical works managed by an organization with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement, the provisions set out in the agreement and CISAC's regulations apply.

7. Musical works that have been registered in accordance with the requirements shall be registered as eligible for settlement, unless:

a) the musical work is not managed by TONO because there is no membership agreement with any rights holder who has rights in the work;
b) the musical work is not protected in Norway;
c) the musical work is plagiarism or otherwise violates the rights of an author or publisher;
d) the musical work is of such a nature that it cannot be incorporated into TONO's repertoire.
e) the rights holder stated in the musical work is not a member of TONO or does not have a management contract with an organization with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement. In such a case, the rights holder should be asked to apply for membership if it must be assumed that the person concerned meets the conditions for this.

8. When a musical work is registered, TONO shall notify the member of this and of what the registration entails. If a musical work cannot be registered according to point 7, the member shall be notified of this and of the reason why the work cannot be registered.

9. Musical works managed by an organization with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement are eligible for settlement, unless the work falls under point 7, letter b, c or d.

Rightsholder's share in the musical work's settlement amount

10. Main rules

a) The author's share of the musical work constitutes the work's settlement amount less the share that may accrue to the publisher pursuant to the provisions of section 14.
b) The composer's share constitutes the author's share less any shares that may accrue to other authors of the musical work pursuant to sections 11, 12 and 13. When new text is added to music that is not protected in Norway, the composer's share is, as a general rule, 1/6.
c) The rules on the distribution of the musical work's shares apply unless another distribution has been agreed between the copyright holders.
d) A rights holder's share is eligible for settlement when the work is registered in accordance with points 1 to 7.

11. The processing share

a) An adaptation is accepted as eligible for participation when it involves a change to the original work that substantially contains newly composed material, but without the identity of the original work being lost. Changes to the form, harmonization and/or instrumentation of the original work, etc. are accepted as adaptations only if the change involves an effort of a particularly innovative nature.
b) The processing share constitutes 1/2 the composer's share.
c) When adapting musical works that are not protected in Norway, the music and lyric committee may, at the time of performance, set the adaptation fee to the full composer fee. In the case of sound recording, the adaptation fee is automatically increased to the full composer fee.
d) When adapting musical works with protected text, and where the text follows the adaptation, permission must also be obtained from the lyricist.

12. Organizer's share

a) An arrangement is approved as eligible for a share when it contains elements of an innovative nature, but without significantly changing the form, harmonization or thematic/rhythmic material of the original work. The following changes to the original work do not qualify for an organizer's share:

I. Additions or changes to dynamics, phrasing, ornamentation, fingering, etc.
II. Simplifications, abbreviations or editorial changes
III. Transpositions or pure transcriptions
IV. Non-innovative instrumentation
V. Other similar changes

b) The organizer's share constitutes 1/3 of the composer's share.
c) When arranging musical works that are not protected in Norway, the arranger's share is automatically increased to the full composer's share when sound recording is made.
d) In the case of arrangements of musical works with protected text, and where the text follows the arrangement, permission must also be obtained from the lyricist.

13. Copywriting share

Original texts

a) The author of the original text receives a share in the musical work's settlement amount, cf. TONO's distribution tables, even when the musical work is performed/recorded without text.
b) If the text is written to already existing music, the author is only entitled to a share when the musical work is performed/recorded with the author's text.
c) If there are multiple texts for the same musical work, the text portion is given only to the author of the performed/recorded text. For translation (subtext), see letter f, I and II.
d) If a musical work with lyrics has been the subject of an approved adaptation or arrangement without the use of the lyrics, the text portion is omitted.
e) The lyricist's share constitutes 1/2 of the copyright. If the text is written for music that is not protected in Norway, the lyricist's share is automatically increased to the full copyright upon sound recording.

Translations and adaptations of free original texts

f) When using text that is not protected in Norway, the text proportion is, as a general rule, 1/6.

I. Translations (subtexts) of free original texts

When translating original text that is not protected in Norway, the translator is awarded the text share. If neither the music nor the original text is protected in Norway, the translator's share is automatically increased to the full author's share upon sound fixation.

II. Adaptations of free original texts In the case of adaptation (parawriting) of original text that is not protected in Norway, the music and text committee may award the text share to the person who has carried out the adaptation (parawriting).

In cases where the adapted text appears as a new original text, the music and text committee may award full copyright. If neither the music nor the original text is protected in Norway, the copyright of the person who has carried out the adaptation (paraphrase) is automatically increased to full copyright upon sound fixation.

Translations (subtitles) of protected original texts

g) If a translation of an original text is approved by the original author or its publisher, the translator is awarded 1/3 of the text share. For musical works that have been created or are believed to have been created in collaboration between composer and author, the translation must also be approved by the composer.

Rewriting

h) Re-writing that appears as a new and independent work of poetry may be approved as an original text by the music and lyrics committee.

Musical works with a large difference in the use of the amount of text and music

i) For a work where there is a large difference in the use of the amount of text and music, the rights holders may ask TONO for advice on the distribution between music and text in the work. When larger sections of a musical work have music without text, TONO may reduce the proportion of text in relation to the playing time of the musical work. Text without music is normally not included in the playing time.

Text portion for revue dramatic performance

j) Even if a paid performance of the musical work takes place, a text share is not given for a revue dramatic performance when the author is a percentage-entitled employee in the revue, or when he otherwise receives direct payment. If the text is performed in a context other than a revue dramatic, or is recorded, a text share is given according to the usual rules.

14. The publishing share

A. Original publisher

a) In order for a publisher to be entitled to a share in the settlement amount of a musical work, the publisher must have entered into a publishing contract for the musical work in question with its author(s). If the publisher does not have a contract with all rights holders in the musical work, the person with whom the publisher does not have a contract will receive their full share with a corresponding reduction in the publisher's share. Composers and lyricists in protected works may enter into a publishing agreement jointly or separately. The share that the publisher is to have according to TONO's distribution plan based on such an agreement cannot be taken away from the publisher through publishing agreements that the arranger/arranger/translator makes with his publisher without the consent of the composer's/lyricist's publisher. The publisher must also have a management contract with TONO or another organization with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement, cf. TONO's statutes § 6.

b) The publishing contract must give the publisher the right to a share in the musical work's settlement amount in accordance with this section, and must give the publisher both the exclusive right and the obligation to publish the musical work for both the agreed period of time and the agreed geographical area.

c) The publisher shall register its rights in the musical work with TONO at the time the publishing share is to be allocated. The registration shall be accompanied by a copy of the work.

d) In the case of performance, the publisher's share is allocated from the year the work is published, unless otherwise agreed between the author and publisher. Such an agreement must be sent to TONO together with the registration of the musical work. In the case of sound recording, the publisher's share is allocated from the settlement period in which the contract is entered into. Allocation of the share as mentioned can only take place when the musical work is registered before the settlement work has been completed for the relevant settlement period.

e) Publication is deemed to have taken place when the musical work is available in such a large number of printed/published copies that it is assumed to meet the needs of the general trade, and in a form that enables the performance of the musical work as it exists from the author's hand.

f) The publishing share amounts to:

I. Performance: − Original work: 1/3 of the musical work's settlement amount. − Adaptation of musical works that are not protected in Norway: 1/3 of the musical work's settlement amount. − Arrangement of such musical works that are not protected in Norway: 1/6 of the musical work's settlement amount.
II. Sound recording: − Original works, adaptations and arrangements of musical works that are not protected in Norway: 1/3 of the musical work's settlement amount. − The publisher's share may be increased to up to 1/2 of the settlement amount when the author and publisher agree to this (see h)).
III. In musical works where only the text is protected in Norway: − 1/6 of the settlement amount when the work is performed with the text, and 1/3 of the settlement amount when the work is recorded with the text.

g) If the publisher has a contract with the author for parts of a musical work, the publisher's share is only awarded for the parts for which the publisher has a contract. The publisher may still receive a share of the entire work if the publishing contract expressly states this.

h) If the publisher has paid an advance to the author, the publisher may collect the author's settlement until the advance has been covered. In such a case, the author and the publisher must send a declaration to TONO regarding this. If the advance applies to specific compositions, the declaration must also contain the titles of the compositions. TONO will continue to send settlement documents to the author even if the advance has not been covered. When the advance has been covered by the publisher, the publisher must notify TONO. If NCB considers that special circumstances apply in a country, the music and lyrics committee may grant exemptions from these provisions.

B. Sub-publisher

i) In order for a sub-publisher to be entitled to a share in the settlement amount of a musical work, the sub-publisher must have entered into a contract for the musical work in question with the original publisher. The contract should preferably be entered into for a minimum of three years, and the sub-publisher must be affiliated with TONO or an organization with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement. The sub-publisher agreement can either be for individual works or so-called catalogue agreements.
Norwegian works subpublished abroad

j) A publisher may, by written agreement with the author, transfer its rights under the publishing contract in whole or in part to a foreign sub-publisher for specific territories and periods, cf. letter i. In such cases, the total publisher's share is increased to up to 1/2 of the settlement amount for the musical work in the territory/period in question. If the musical work is recorded in a new arrangement or translated text is added in connection with sub-publishing abroad, the total share for the original and sub-publishers may be increased to 2/3 by agreement between the author and publisher. The prerequisite is that the share for the relevant arranger/translator is covered by the total publisher's share. In the event of payment of advances from foreign sub-publishers, letter h applies accordingly in the case of sound recording.

Foreign works subpublished in Norway

k) For foreign musical works eligible for settlement that are sub-published in Norway, a publisher's share is allocated that is approved by the relevant organization with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement. In the case of adaptations and arrangements of musical works that are not protected in Norway, or when only the text is protected in Norway, a publisher's share is allocated in accordance with TONO's distribution rules.

15. Distribution tables
See an overview of TONO's distribution tables below on this page.

Complaints and corrections

16. Complaints and claims

All cases concerning specific documentation and settlement issues are handled in the first instance by TONO's administration.

a) A decision made by TONO's administration, the distribution committee or the music and lyrics committee may be appealed to TONO by a rights holder who is affected by the decision. The appeal must be submitted in writing, with supporting documentation, and within the deadlines mentioned below, calculated from the day the decision is received by the rights holder. The body that has made the decision appealed against may choose to reverse its decision.

b) TONO's administration decides on a rights holder's complaint regarding settlements and the like. The complaint must be submitted within six weeks after the settlement/notification has reached the rights holder. The administration's decision in complaint cases may be appealed within three weeks to the distribution committee in cases concerning the performance, and to the music and lyrics committee in cases not concerning the performance. In cases of doubt, the board decides which body is the correct appeal body. The decision of the distribution committee or the music and lyrics committee may be appealed further within three weeks to the board, which will process and finally decide the case.

c) The appeal deadline for other decisions made by the distribution committee or the music and lyrics committee is six weeks. If the distribution committee or the music and lyrics committee upholds its decision, the appeal will be processed by the board, which will make the final decision on the matter.

d) The lyricist/translator only has the right to complain if he or she is the sole protected author of the musical work.

e) If the appeal deadline has been exceeded, the right to appeal has lapsed.

f) If a rights holder has not registered a musical work in which he or she has rights by the time the settlement work of the relevant music report is completed, the right to appeal for the current performance lapses. In cases where this has particularly unreasonable consequences, the music and lyrics committee may nevertheless submit an appeal to the board, which will finally decide the case, following a recommendation from the committee.

g) Complaints from companies with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement are processed in accordance with the relevant agreement and CISAC's regulations.

h) If a licensee is of the opinion that the settlement amount received from a company with which TONO has a reciprocal agreement cannot be correct, the inquiry must be forwarded to the company in question.

i) General impartiality provisions apply when handling complaints.

17. Corrections

a) A correction made following a timely complaint from the licensee shall take effect as of the settlement affected by the correction. If the original decision was due to the licensee providing incorrect or incomplete information, the correction shall nevertheless take effect as mentioned in letter b, first paragraph.

b) Corrections made on your own initiative take effect from the settlement period that has not ended when the correction is made.

In special cases, and especially if there is an error on TONO's part, the board may, upon recommendation from the music and lyrics committee, grant the correction retroactive effect, but not for more than three completed accounting years.

 

DISTRIBUTION TABLES

This is an overview of TONO's distribution tables as mentioned in the membership terms and conditions section. 15. Distribution tables.