New settlement rules create engagement. It is natural when TONO modernizes important rules that affect tens of thousands of authors and music publishers.
/ 25/11/2025 / Willy MartinsenThis is Karl Vestli's comment in the November newsletter to TONO members.
We in the administration are now working on the last settlement of the year, which will arrive well before Christmas. This is a comprehensive work where we ensure that the correct rights holders are paid for the music that has been licensed, played and performed.
The settlements and regulations we use are of interest to many members. After we introduced the changes resulting from the Collective Management Act in the settlement rules in September, without transitional arrangements, some have thought that TONO should have done this earlier, while others believe that we should have waited.
There have also been questions about whether the settlements would have been higher if one were a member of another management company, such as STIM, Koda or Imro.
The way the international agreements work, in practice it should not matter much which company you are a member of. All companies cover their costs in their own home market and then pass the money on to the rightful originator or originator's company. There are normally no extra costs when sending money between countries, not even at TONO.
The fact that TONO's deductions are in some cases higher than in some other countries is due to, among other things, specific Norwegian rules such as the statutory deduction to the Norwegian Composers' Fund, statutory provisions for cultural funds (as in many other countries) and investments in technology. These costs follow the use of music in Norway – regardless of whether you are a member of Koda, Stim, Imro, Ascap or others.
If your income mainly comes from using the music in Norway, a membership in a foreign company will probably only result in you receiving the money later, because it has to go through an extra step after the settlement has been made in Norway.
If your payments mostly come from streaming from Spotify or other international digital platforms, from 2026 TONO will receive the money directly through our ICE agreements, so that settlements come quickly, and at a competitive cost percentage.
We are continuously working to keep costs down in Norway, so that as much of the money we license as possible goes to the rights holders, regardless of which company they are a member of. We expect our colleagues in other countries to do the same in their home markets.
TONO is owned by its members. We value both engagement and contact. Please contact the membership department at medlem@tono.no if you have any questions about this, or other matters related to the settlements.