Many revue organizers know too little about copyright. This creates challenges for the composers' cooperative TONO. “The composers and lyricists must give permission for the use of music in school and student revues and so on, and now we are taking steps to increase the level of knowledge about copyright, collective management and TONO,” says communications manager at TONO, Willy Martinsen.
/ 27/01/2022 / Kristian DugstadIn January 2022, TONO will launch a campaign targeted at revue organizers. With a new digital information page, online advertising, email and letter mailings to high schools, folk high schools and student associations across the country, TONO will remind Russian revues and other revue organizers that they must have the composers' and lyricists' permission to use music.
– Every year, TONO works continuously with campaigns aimed at music users regarding the clearance of music rights, not least revues. What is new this year is that there is a larger, more comprehensive campaign that includes an information page online, new brochure material, Google advertising and email and letter mailings to upper secondary schools, folk high schools and student associations all over the country. We hope this will contribute to ensuring that all those who arrange revues now get the knowledge they need, says Communications Manager Willy Martinsen at TONO.
Everyone who writes music has copyright protection under the Copyright Act. Organizers who wish to use music publicly, for example in a revue, must in principle have permission from each individual music creator to use the music.
– Virtually all the world's composers and lyricists are members of TONO or our sister societies in the international network of copyright organizations. This means that TONO can grant performance licenses for virtually the entire world's repertoire on behalf of the authors. For music users such as broadcasters, streaming services, concert organizers, and not least revues, it could hardly be easier, says Martinsen.
Regardless of who wrote the music, and what form it will be performed in, permission must be granted and the music agreement must be in place before the premiere day arrives. When the last performance is over, TONO needs a report on the music performed, audience figures and ticket revenues to ensure that the money reaches the rightful authors.
– For a TONO payment of just two percent of the revue's gross ticket revenue, the organizer can be confident that they are using music legally, that all rights have been cleared and that the composers and lyricists who have written the music will receive their TONO payment, says Martinsen.
In addition to informing about the necessity of clarifying the use of music with TONO in advance of the revue, TONO also reminds in the campaign that revues must report to TONO what kind of music has been performed. TONO encourages all revue organizers to contact them to sign an agreement or have their questions answered.
Here is a link to the campaign information page: https://www.tono.no/revykampanje/
About TONO:TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by authors (composers and lyricists) and music publishers, and on their behalf manages the economic copyrights in the music they have created. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music, for example on radio, TV, the internet, concerts and cinemas for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders in music that has been played publicly. TONO has more than 37,000 members, but also works with millions of authors and music publishers from around the world. TONO gives music creators an economic basis to create new music, and collects and simplifies the licensing of protected music to music users. TONO had a turnover of NOK 712,4 million in 2020.
For more information:
Willy Martinsen, communications manager at TONO, willy.martinsen@tono.no, mobile 909 65 254