First new TONO logo since 1999
TONO has a new logo for the first time since 1999. It was developed in collaboration with Netlife, and is part of TONO's new visual identity, which will be launched on various platforms throughout 2025. - We are proud of the new logo, which is an image of sound and which is also an expression that TONO is changing, says TONO's communications director, Willy Martinsen.
/ 11/04/2025 / Willy MartinsenTONO's previous logo was developed by Bruno Oldani in 1999. Now the company, which annually manages music rights worth around one billion kroner, presents an identity that reflects both its current role and future ambitions:
– TONO is in the midst of a comprehensive strategy process, where we will become an even better value creator for those who create music and those who use it. We now have a visual expression that reflects who we are and where we are going. We are very proud of our new logo, says Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO.
The new design expression will be rolled out gradually in 2025, with the annual report in May and new digital services for music creators and customers, which are being developed together with Knowit. A new website will be launched in 2026.
The visual identity is based on the core of TONO's mission: to manage music rights and create value for those who create and use music.
The identity is built as a flexible design system that translates the properties of sound into visual effects, with an emphasis on rhythm, dynamics and volume. This allows for variation and leeway, and makes it possible to meet TONO's diverse needs – both now and in the future.
The logo visualizes TONO's role: to represent and protect music, without favoring genre, mood or expression. The vertical lines symbolize stewardship – from beginning to end – while the placement of the letters evokes associations with rhythm, musical notation, music production tools, sound levels and graphic representations of music.
– The logo itself is an image of music, and at the same time expresses how we protect and manage music from start to finish. It reflects the creativity in what we work with, and gives us a flexible and modern expression, says Martinsen.
The design agency Netlife was selected in a competition with four other agencies. The award-winning agency, in collaboration with TONO, has developed a new brand strategy that has laid the foundations for the new visual identity and a comprehensive design system.
– We have worked closely with TONO to anchor the identity in their strategy, and ensure that both form and function support what they are actually going to solve. TONO is a strong brand with high awareness, but they wanted to strengthen and clarify the associations of who they are, and what they mean – for both music creators and music users, says CEO of Netlife, Kristoffer Krohn Eide.
Netlife's "TONO team" consisted of Sissel Johannessen and Sven Simonsen. In TONO, the design group consisted of Stine Aas from the development department and Kristian Dugstad and Willy Martinsen from the communications department.
About TONO:
TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by composers, songwriters and music publishers. TONO manages the economic copyrights in their musical works, and grants licenses for the use of protected music in public for a fee. TONO's financial results are transferred to rights holders in music that has been performed publicly in Norway and abroad. TONO has more than 43,000 composers, songwriters and lyricists as members, and also represents millions of rights holders from the rest of the world. TONO provides music creators with an economic basis to create new music, and collects and simplifies the licensing of protected music to music users. The company had a turnover of NOK 997,4 million in 2023.
For more information:
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO, mobile 909 65,254, willy.martinsen (a) tono.no