Chairman of TONO, Tom Hugo Hermansen. (Photo: Anne Valeur)
Chairman Tom Hugo Hermansen:
A smaller, but more competence-based board. More opportunities for members and others to seek support. Greater participation in member democracy. A new purpose clause. – The board believes that the changes we propose for the annual meeting will make TONO stronger and better equipped for the future, says TONO chairman, Tom Hugo Hermansen.
/ 18/08/2026 / Willy MartinsenAfter a summer of input meetings, dialogue with member groups and organizations, and further work on the board, the proposals for changes to the statutes are now ready before the extraordinary annual meeting on September 1.
The board proposes changes to the board composition, a new model for cultural funds, the introduction of advance voting and a new purpose clause. For TONO's board, this constitutes an overall proposal for the modernization of the organization.
– The proposals are intended to make TONO a more modern and democratic organization. At the same time, they will help us get more out of our investments in activity and musical diversity. The ambition is to make TONO stronger and better equipped to safeguard the breadth of its members' interests, says Hermansen.
Also read this article about the bylaw changes the board is proposing:
The board proposes to reduce the number of board members from 11 to 8, and that there should no longer be a requirement for board members to be members of specific organizations.
– There has been a unanimous desire on the board that competence should be the most important criterion for who sits on the board. Therefore, we want to shift the focus from which association a board member comes from, to what knowledge about the members' everyday work and what competence the person brings to the management of TONO, says Hermansen.
The chairman also emphasizes that the board must continue to have good knowledge of the entire membership.
– The board needs both knowledge of the daily work of different parts of the membership and expertise in the business operations of TONO. The goal is a board that is both effective and representative.
The board will still have an author majority, with four authors, one music publisher, two employee-elected members and one external board member.
The board also proposes a new model for cultural funds. Hermansen believes that the discussion should be less about who receives the funds and more about what they should help achieve.
– Norwegian music life encompasses both broad commercial breakthroughs and narrower artistic expressions. TONO has a responsibility to safeguard this breadth while at the same time protecting copyright and the revenue base.
In the proposed model, an independent committee will distribute the funds according to open and verifiable criteria.
– The big change from the current arrangement is that we are shifting the responsibility for assessing which measures are most appropriate to fulfill the purpose, from four permanent recipients to an independent committee that assesses who can best contribute to achieving the goals, says Hermansen.
The board believes that this will make the schemes more accessible and better facilitate the use of funds in line with clear goals and create the greatest possible value.
– The board believes that the changes can contribute to more activity and production, greater musical diversity and increased cultural policy influence.
An important goal is for more members to have access to the schemes financed through cultural funds.
– I hope more members will have access to, and feel ownership of, the initiatives and projects financed through these funds.
The board also proposes to introduce advance voting at annual meetings. At the same time, clearer rules have been added for how the scheme will function.
– We have listened to the input that has been received. Therefore, we have prepared clearer frameworks that will ensure both good information, debate and the opportunity to submit proposals before the advance voting opens.
The board has used the summer to further develop the proposals after the annual meeting in June.
– We have worked in three phases. First, the board considered which parts of the previous proposals could be improved. Then we met with member groups, associations and partners, and arranged an open member meeting. Finally, we have considered the feedback and prepared new proposals.
The proposals now being presented are the result of extensive work throughout the summer.
– The goal has been to find solutions that both take into account different parts of the membership and strengthen TONO's competitiveness. The process has been good, and the board is united behind the recommendation we are now presenting to the members, says Hermansen.
As the chairman looks ahead a few years, he hopes members will experience a TONO that is more accessible, more efficient and better equipped to meet new challenges.
– I hope we get a board that gives TONO a clear strategic direction, maintains good control and is a constructive sparring partner for the admin station, and that more members experience that they have access to the opportunities that exist in TONO. I also hope that more people feel ownership of the initiatives that are built through the community.
– Overall, I believe this can help strengthen both TONO and its members' income base over time, concludes the chairman.
TONO's extraordinary annual meeting will be held on September 1. TONO's voting members were sent a notice with agenda papers on August 18.
ALSO READ THIS STORY:
The first document provides a clear overview of the board's proposed changes to the statutes. The documents Allocation instructions for cultural funds and Guidelines for advance voting at the annual meeting of TONO provide a deeper understanding of the proposals. The documents are part of the case documents for the annual meeting on September 1.
The story was updated on August 18 at 9:17 a.m. One sentence was changed for greater linguistic clarity.
The sentence that case papers would be sent out on August 18 was changed to the past tense on August 19 at 6:30 p.m.
The matter was updated on August 19 at 9:55 p.m., when a section was added at the bottom where an overview of the board's proposals for changes to the articles of association can be found.