Gunn Kvaale performed at the opening party for the TONO house on Thursday 23 April. There were also performances by Kajsa Balto as well as Bendik Hofseth and Helge Iberg. (Photo: Kristian Dugstad/TONO)
New national music house in Kongens gate 12
On Thursday, April 23, TONO opened its new music house in Kongens gate 12 in Oslo. – The opening of the TONO building is a major milestone in our almost 100-year history, and we are very happy that TONO members can finally use the building, says CEO Karl Vestli.
/ 24/04/2026 / Willy MartinsenThe TONO house in Kongens gate 12 officially opened yesterday, with a celebration attended by TONO members, industry professionals and guests from partners at home and abroad. The opening marks a major milestone in TONO's almost 100-year history.
–The TONO house is much more than just a building. It is a very visible expression of the change that TONO is about to undergo. We have great ambitions for the future, and among other things want to be much closer to our members. This is very concretely expressed through the fact that we have built four state-of-the-art studios that are free for our members to write new music in, says TONO CEO, Karl Vestli.
The house has four professional music studios that will be available free of charge to all TONO members from May 11. Two studios are located on the top floor with a room-in-room construction and floating floors. Two are located on the ground floor under the building's original curved ceiling. All are acoustically treated and technically equipped. One of the country's most successful producers and songwriters, Espen Berg (Seeb), has been heavily involved in the work and has contributed as an acoustic and technical consultant.
– There has been full activity in the studios during a test period, and we are very pleased that the first two officially open weeks in the TONO studios were fully booked just 44 minutes after we opened the booking, says Vestli.
The house also has zones for meetings and office work, as well as a stage for concerts, lectures and events under a glass roof over the original backyard.
The TONO house is the workplace for TONO's 83 employees, and is shared with the music organizations Gramo, GramArt, NOPA, the Norwegian Composers' Association, Music Publishers, Music Foundations and the IT company Clave. When everyone is in place, around 140 people will have their daily work in the house.
– Bringing together organizations with common interests in one building provides new opportunities for collaboration, knowledge sharing and development. It is our goal that this will create value in a way that will benefit the entire music industry, says Vestli.
The building in Kvadraturen was built in 1899. The bricks, load-bearing elements and facade have been preserved, while the house has been technically upgraded with new ventilation, a new energy solution and new common areas. TONO purchased the property in November 2023 for NOK 242,5 million following a resolution to invest in physical property at TONO's annual meeting.
TONO has had the support of a number of invaluable partners in the rehabilitation of Kongens gate 12: Fokus Rådgivning, Varden Entreprenør, Haark/Hammer architects, interior architects Kravik Jørundland, music equipment supplier Benum and Avility.
Read previous articles about the TONO house:
TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by composers, lyricists and music publishers. TONO manages the economic copyrights in their musical works and grants licenses for the use of protected music publicly 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 44,000 members and also represents millions of international authors. In 2024, TONO paid out NOK 741,7 million to rights holders at home and abroad.
For more information:
Karl Vestli, CEO of TONO, mobile 932 56 020, karl.vestli@tono.no
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO, mobile 909 65 254, willy.martinsen@tono.no