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Record-high revenues from music copyrights
(Oslo, May 28, 2024) TONO had a turnover of NOK 997,9 million in 2023. Streaming was the collective management company's largest revenue area for the first time, and there were also record revenues in a number of areas.
/ 28/05/2024 / Willy MartinsenTONO's revenue in 2023 was a total of NOK 997,896,781, up 15,41 percent from 2022 revenue of NOK 864.6 million. After a deduction of two percent to the Norwegian Composers' Fund, losses and the operation of TONO's work for creators and users of music, the result for distribution to rights holders at home and abroad was NOK 847,982,395, up NOK 130,6 million from 2022. This is the highest result for distribution ever.
– We are delighted with record-high revenue figures from both the internet, concerts and background music, and high revenues from the use of TONO's music abroad. This tells us that our music is valued, that the TONO license is an attractive product and that collective management of copyrights is a viable and strong business model, says Karl Vestli, CEO of TONO.
He also reminds us that the record turnover must be seen in its proper light:
– TONO is a non-profit company that pays out money to hundreds of thousands of music creators and music publishers at home and abroad based on where, and how much, the music is used. It is an economy with very few winners. 90 percent of the TONO members who received a settlement in 2023 received less than 13,000 kroner. There are several areas where composers and lyricists currently cannot be said to receive fair remuneration, such as in the concert area, which is something TONO is now taking steps to change, says Vestli.
Read case "TONO modernizes the concert tariff", published May 28, 2024, on tono.no
Internet overtook broadcasting as TONO's largest revenue area in 2023. Driven by good negotiation work from TONO towards film streaming services and Polaris hub, which licenses music streaming services on behalf of TONO, online revenues ended at NOK 300 million, a significant increase from NOK 225 million in 2022.
Media development is moving away from linear radio and TV broadcasts to "on demand" services. Despite this development, TONO managed, through its negotiation and licensing work, to keep broadcasting revenues stable, with 2023 revenues of NOK 263,6 million compared to NOK 260,6 million in 2022.
Concerts are TONO's third largest revenue area. Here, TONO's marketing department, which licenses concerts, noted that their work throughout the year resulted in revenue figures of NOK 112 million, up from NOK 104,2 million in 2022. There was also an important increase in revenue from the background music area, from NOK 78 million in 2022 to NOK 88 million in 2023.
Revenue from sister societies in other countries around the world was NOK 85,4 million, up from NOK 72,8 million the previous year. In addition, NOK 31 million of TONO's internet revenue (described above) came from streaming Norwegian music abroad. This gave TONO a total of more than NOK 116 million in revenue from abroad.
Read more about TONO's results for 2023 in TONO's transparency report
TONO disburses money based on reports of actual usage. In 2023, TONO sent NOK 390 million to sister societies in other countries, based on actual performance in Norway.
Similarly, TONO paid NOK 323,5 million to a total of 30,505 TONO members in 2023.
This means that of the funds paid to specific licensees at home and abroad, 54,7 percent went abroad and 45,3 percent to Norwegian licensees.
For more than two years, TONO's administration and board have been working on a thorough review of how TONO calculates and pays royalties, both to meet changed framework conditions and to ensure fair remuneration for composers, lyricists and music publishers. Now, in connection with TONO's annual meeting on June 11, the company is therefore announcing that it has adopted both a modernized tariff for concert organizers and a new settlement model for members. The settlement model will be presented to TONO's annual meeting on June 11 for approval of the board's decision. The concert tariff has finally been adopted. The concert tariff will be fully implemented from 2027, and the settlement model fully from the performance year 2028.
Read about the new billing model here.
Read about the new concert tariff here
Read TONO's full transparency report here
TONO was founded in 1928 and is a non-profit cooperative owned and managed by composers, lyricists and music publishers, and which manages the economic copyrights in their musical works. TONO grants permission for the use of protected music on radio, TV, the internet, concerts, cinema, etc. for a fee, and transfers its financial results each year to the rights holders of music that has been performed publicly. TONO has more than 40,000 members, but also works for 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 997.9 million in 2023.
Willy Martinsen, Communications Director, Willy.martinsen (a) tono.no, tel. +47 909 65 254
Karl Vestli, CEO, email: karl.vestli (a) tono.no, mobile: 932 56 020
The case was updated on May 29 and 30, because the completely precise and correct numerical basis in TONO's accounts and settlement figures was misinterpreted in the work on this text in connection with foreign income. It was stated in the first published version of this text that TONO in 2023 had the highest income from abroad ever. This is not true.