Today, more than half of Norwegian local radio stations are gathered in Trondheim, when the Local Radio Association's national conference gets underway. – It's important to take the pulse of the industry, says Thor Christensen at TONO.
/ 10/03/2022 / Kristian DugstadAfter two years of cancellations due to the coronavirus, the Norwegian Local Radio Association's national conference is now taking place in Trondheim. With 180 representatives from almost 90 local radio stations, this year's attendance is a record for the local radio industry's most important meeting place.
Since 1984, the conference has provided professional development and knowledge dissemination in the local radio field. This year, there is one topic in particular in focus: Technology.
– The local radio industry is firmly rooted in a digitalization process. The transition from FM to DAB and internet radio presents a number of technological and practical challenges. This characterizes the national conference, and technology is naturally the theme for many of the 27 sessions we have over three days, says Pål Lomeland, CEO of the Norwegian Local Radio Association.
What most of Norway's many local radio stations have in common is that they play music. Consequently, they are also customers of TONO, which through payments and reporting contributes to the salaries of composers and lyricists at home and abroad.
Thor Christensen in the Online Media department is responsible for the local radio area in TONO. He has participated in the National Conference since he took over the customer area in the fall of 2010. He finds this very useful.
– For TONO, it is of great value to be present to take the pulse of the industry. We gain good insight into what is on the minds of local radio stations by participating in the sessions. It is also important that we are represented and can meet and talk to our customers.
Lomeland in the Norwegian Local Radio Association also emphasizes the value of meeting face to face.
– At the conference we can meet many of the organizations we deal with on a daily basis. It's not just the sessions that are important, but also the social aspect. We get the opportunity to meet those we otherwise only talk to on the phone, like Thor.
Radio is still the platform where most Norwegians discover new music. This is according to The Polaris Nordic Digital Music Survey 2020, conducted by YouGov for the three Nordic rights organizations TONO, Koda (DK) and Teosto (FIN).
Norway's approximately 150 local radio stations are an important part of this picture, with their special focus on local music.
– There are local radio stations from Nordkapp to Lindesnes. They are important contributors to spreading and promoting local artists and niche music, says Lomeland.
In 2020, a new reporting tool for local radio stations was launched as a result of a collaboration between the Norwegian Local Radio Association, Gramo and TONO. The goal was to make it easier for local radio stations to report, and thus be able to pay out money as accurately as possible.
For 2021, TONO has received reports of many millions of musical pieces played from Norwegian local radio stations.
– It can still be a time-consuming process for a local radio station to report music usage, but the fact that the report can lead to income for local songwriters is an important motivation, says Lomeland.