Cato Strøm will retire on July 1, 2022 after 33 years as CEO of TONO.
/ 17/03/2022 / Willy MartinsenCato Strøm began as legal advisor at TONO in January 1983. In 1986 he was appointed deputy director and legal officer, and in 1989 he took over as CEO.
– When Minister of Culture Lars Roar Langslet abolished the broadcasting monopoly in 1981, it was clear that a media revolution would hit Norway. That was the reason why, on the advice of my superiors in the ministry where I was employed, I joined TONO. It was almost 40 intense, exciting, groundbreaking and fun years in the service of the creators, says Cato Strøm, who turns 70 in June.
Strøm will retire on July 1, 2022, but will have an advisory role during a transition phase.
TONO has experienced several media revolutions during Strøm's years at TONO. In Strøm's first year as CEO of TONO, the company had a turnover of NOK 68,1 million. In 2020, this had increased to NOK 712,4 million. The figures for 2021 will be published in a few weeks.
– It has been a privilege and a pleasure, together with fantastic colleagues, to watch TONO grow into one of the most profitable and cost-effective collective management companies in the world. A sought-after repertoire, good legislation and good strategic organizational choices mean that we as a company are where we are today. We have also managed better through two years of pandemic than most other collective management companies in the world, not least thanks to patient creators, a solid legal basis and a fantastic spirit of volunteerism, he says.
TONO's board is in the process of finding Strøm's successor.
– Few, if any, in Norway have contributed as much to Norwegian music life, for Norwegian composers, songwriters, lyricists and music publishers as Cato Strøm has done during his 33 years as CEO of TONO. The development over the past 30 years has been enormous and characterized by major shifts in both technology, music use and licensing forms. Strøm has led TONO through all of these shifts, and not least through the last two, and very challenging, years of the pandemic. Now the Norwegian music life is facing a restart after the pandemic at the same time as the pace of change in the various markets is increasing. The board will now launch a broad search to find the right candidate to lead TONO in the coming years, says Jørgen Karlstrøm, chairman of TONO.
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 in Norway, but also works for millions of authors and music publishers from around the world. TONO gives music creators an economic basis to be able 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.
Jørgen Karlstrøm, chairman of TONO, jorgen (a) komponist.no, mob. 957 25,736
Willy Martinsen, communications manager at TONO, willy.martinsen (a) tono.no, mob. 909 65 254
Cato Strøm, managing director of TONO, cato.strom (a) tono.no, mob. 922 16,319