How TONO calculates your payouts 

If your music is played publicly, you will be paid by TONO for it. But how do we actually calculate how much you will get? Here we explain how TONO's billing model works, and what it means for you. 

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 / 27/02/2026 / Willy Martinsen

In a few weeks, in week 12 (week 16 - 22 March), it will be time for the first TONO settlement of the year. Before we get there, we would like to provide more information about how TONO settles money. We will do this more often in the future, we will give you clearer information in the settlement letters, and we are also working on developing new solutions that will provide better information in the settlement information itself on Mitt TONO.

The money follows the music

The basic principle behind TONO's payments is simple: Money from a specific type of use should go to the creators of the music that was used in that particular context.

This means in practice that concert revenues are only used to pay for concerts, radio revenues only for radio play, and TV revenues only for use on TV. Background music revenues from shops, hotels and fitness centers are distributed separately, on a basis that is related to the music actually played in all such places. Previously, TONO's background music revenues were distributed only to concert and NRK plays. This is no longer done.

The goal is for your payout to reflect as closely as possible where your music is used.

From use to payment  

Here's how the process looks for each payout:

1. We license the use of music
   Anyone who wants to use the music we manage for our members must have a license from us, and they pay us money for it.
2. We receive reports on the use 
   Radio and TV channels report everything they play directly to us. Movie and music streaming services send detailed usage logs. Concerts are reported by the promoter or performer. Cinemas report, as do several other users. We do a great job of checking the quality of the reports, both manually and using advanced technology.
3. We calculate what the use is worth 
   Each area has its own method. For radio and TV, we use a points system where playing time, number of performances and the channel's listeners and viewers all count. For music streaming, it is the number of plays that determines what you get. For film streaming services, it is the number of plays or purchases/rentals per production. For concerts, the amount paid to TONO per concert determines how many points the concert gets. These points are distributed among the works that were performed at the individual concert based on the playing time of each work.
4. The money is paid to you. 
   Once we know which works have been used, who owns them, and how much money is to be paid per work, we distribute it to each individual work and each individual copyright holder.

We pay out four times a year: March, June, September and December.

Background music: New as a separate area 

Cafes, restaurants, hairdressers and gyms generally do not report to TONO which songs they play. To distribute this money fairly, we therefore use credible listening and viewing figures from, among others: Kantar og Nielsen Media Research, usage data from streaming services and our own research. This provides a representative picture of what is actually played in such contexts.

Better insight is on the way 

As mentioned above, we are working hard to create new technical solutions on Mitt TONO that will give you much better insight into what you are paid TONO money for and why. When we launch these later this year, you will be able to see the connection between usage and payout directly in Mitt TONO. This is a very important initiative for us, because we want you to understand why you are getting the payouts you make from TONO.

Deduction 

Before we can pay out money, we also make some deductions. We do a statutory requirement at 2 percent more The Norwegian Composers' Fund. For our work, which ensures that money is actually coming in that we can distribute, we make administrative deductions. In 2024, this was 14,49 percent for the entire business (but this varies per area, see the full overview in our annual report on page 65). Draws are also made to scholarship awards and national music cultural purposes of up to 8 percent according to TONO's statutes.

Would you like to know even more about the settlements? 
 

• Here you can read TONO's settlement rules (pdf document) 

• TONO has its own section on tono.no called «Settlement». There you will always find information about when the next settlement is, and information about settlements for concerts, radio and TV, abroad and background music (there you will also be able to see in detail what kind of sources we use to settle the background music money).
• And remember: If you have questions about billing, or other matters concerning your TONO membership, please contact the Membership Department at medlem@tono.noThe people working there are nice and would love to hear from you.