4 out of 10 Norwegians consume music weekly on Facebook – the most in the Nordic region. But Norwegian composers and lyricists get nothing in return from the service.
/ 27/07/2017 / Willy MartinsenNorwegian youth watch music the most on Facebook
A new survey commissioned by TONO and its Nordic sister societies KODA and Teosto shows that 40% of Norwegians watch music videos at least once a week on Facebook. This is almost a doubling in two years. In the 12-17 age group, this figure is 64%, and for 18-29 year olds, 54%.
Norwegians are Nordic masters at streaming videos with music content on Facebook. Norwegian music lovers are also at the forefront on Instagram. 40% say they have streamed videos with music content on the Facebook-owned photo and video service. At the same time, 17% say they have watched, or shared, a live concert on Facebook.
(Image from the survey, which will be presented in full on tono.no around August 7)
Pays nothing
Norwegian musicians and songwriters can boast millions of video views on Facebook, but the company pays nothing back to the copyright holders of the content that is shared. This is something TONO is actively fighting to do something about.
– It is great that so many people are streaming music content, but we need new EU legislation that will ensure that rights holders are compensated for the use of their intellectual property. The Roland Berger report from 2015 shows that 52% of Facebook's advertising revenue comes from creative and artistic content. That one of the world's largest companies is getting away with hiding behind outdated directives is unacceptable, says CEO of TONO, Cato Strøm.
TONO is now working with sister societies in 32 other European countries to create understanding within the EU about the necessity of new European copyright legislation that will ensure that a fair share of the internet economy goes to composers, lyricists and other artist groups.
– If we are to ensure that the general public has access to new music in the future, the entire digital economy must be put into order, so that composers and lyricists can be paid fairly and fairly when their music is also used on user-generated platforms, typically social media. We believe that we have most people on board with this. We note that a clear majority, 60 percent, of the most avid music consumers on Facebook believe that music creators should be paid for the use of music online, says Cato Strøm.
About the survey
The Polaris Music Survey was conducted by the research company YouGov on behalf of TONO and its sister societies KODA (Denmark) and Teosto (Finland). Interviews were conducted with over 1000 people aged 15-65, as well as parents of children aged 12-14 in each of the four Nordic countries represented (Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland). In total, over 4000 interviews were conducted online.
The survey will be published simultaneously across the Nordic countries, and will be presented in its entirety around April 7 here on tono.no.
About TONO:
TONO is a non-profit cooperative, founded in 1928, owned and managed by its members: composers, lyricists and music publishers. TONO manages performance rights for musical works in Norway, and collects royalties for their public performance. TONO represents Today more than 29,000 TONO members, as well as more than 2,5 million authors from other countries in the Norwegian territory through reciprocal agreements with sister societies worldwide. TONO's results for distribution are transferred to the rights holders of performed musical works. TONO facilitates the use of music in society, while at the same time providing music creators with a basis for constantly creating new musical works. For more info: www.tono.no
For more information:
Willy Martinsen, communications manager at TONO | mob. 909 65 254, | willy.martinsen@tono.no