- The EDVARD Prize will be one of several categories - and now the creators of the value will also be honored
The TONO Award is now being launched, where the traditional EDVARD Award will be continued as a single category among several - and where the Verdiskaper Award will honor journalists, managers, record companies, streaming services, broadcasters and others who contribute to raising and creating value for and from music.
/ 01/10/2026 / Willy Martinsen
With the TONO Award, TONO aims to highlight both music creators and actors who contribute to their music reaching out and creating artistic, cultural and commercial value.
TONO has awarded the EDVARD prize since 1998, in a wide range of categories. Under the name "TONO's EDVARD award" it is continued as en of the categories in the TONO Award in addition to the newly established Newcomer Award, the Creator Award and the Honorary Award.
– It is important to honor both those who create music and those who create value for music. At the same time as we highlight young and promising creators, we will also honor those who have left a deep mark on music in Norway. We will embrace all of this in the TONO Award, where a versatile industry jury will contribute to making this a very prestigious award to receive this year and in the years to come, says CEO Karl Vestli.
Magne Furuholmen, who has designed the trophies and diplomas for the EDVARD Prize and TONO's Mediator Prize since 2018, has developed the new TONO trophy. The prizes will be awarded at an awards ceremony at the TONO building in Oslo on October 28.
TONO's EDVARD Prize is awarded to music creators for music of exceptionally high artistic quality in the previous year. The EDVARD prize is genre-independent and should over time reflect the breadth of Norwegian music life. The winner must be a member of TONO, and the prize consists of a trophy designed by Magne Furuholmen.
TONO's Newcomer Award is awarded to authors or music publishers who are early in their careers and have had a breakthrough in the previous year. Artistic quality, impact and visibility are key words. The winner must be a member of TONO, and the prize consists of a trophy designed by Magne Furuholmen.
TONO's Honorary Award is awarded to music creators or music publishers who have left a lasting mark on Norwegian music life. The winner must be a member of TONO, and the prize consists of a trophy designed by Magne Furuholmen.
TONO's Value Creation Award is awarded to a person, business, organization or institution that has made a special effort to create added value for the music TONO manages, through, among other things, promoting, disseminating, developing or investing in Norwegian music creators and their works. The award can go to actors from various parts of the Norwegian and international music scene. The award consists of a trophy designed by Magne Furuholmen.
The nominees for TONO's EDVARD Prize and TONO's Newcomer Prize are announced today.
| The nominated authors | Verk | Artist/project |
| Jo David Meyer Lysne, Peder Simonsen, Jan Martin Smørdal, Ane Marthe Sørlien Holen, Inga Grytås Byrkjeland, Solmund Nystabakk, Silje Marie Aker Johnsen, Inga Margrete Aas, Heloisa Amaral and Yumi Murakami. | For NeoN | Ensemble NeoN |
| Sebastian Kornelius Gautier Teigen, Sondre Alvestad, Didrik Thulin, Jakob Bjørn-Hansen, Ulrik Denizou Lund and Joachim Jæger. | Drunk Guy | KA2 |
| – Ingebjørg Loe Bjørnstad, Trygve Seim, Sondre Meisfjord and Håkon Thelin. | Duv | Ingebjørg Loe Bjørnstad |
| Harpreet Bansal | States of Mind | Harpreet Bansal |
NOMINEES FOR THE TONO NEWCOMER AWARD
| Originators | Verk |
| Ari Bajgora | The choice to go, and we went |
| Hecate (Malin Alander, Silje Risdal Liahagen and Synnøve Brøndbo) |
The Place for Eternity Imagines |
| Anna Berg | Nuances of Water |
| Favorite (Silje Espevik and Adrian Einestor Sandberg) | Time Time Time (Im in the Palm of Your Hand |
The winners will be announced during the TONO Prize 2026 in the TONO House, Kongens gate 12 in Oslo, October 28. The Creator Award and the Honorary Award are announced without nominations.
The TONO Prize jury 2026 consists of:
Maja Viken (contemporary composer, jury chair)
Hedvig Mollestad (songwriter, musician and artist)
Kristine Bjørnstad (music publisher)
Stian Aarstad (TONO's membership department, musician and producer)
Erik Valebrokk (music journalist and communicator)
Maria Bringsjord (manager)
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 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 46,000 members and also represents millions of international authors. In 2025, TONO paid out NOK 715 million to rights holders in Norway and abroad.
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director at TONO, mobile 909 65 254