TONO's annual meeting was held yesterday at the Popsenteret in Oslo. Following this, TONO has gained two new board members, while two were re-elected. New deputy members were also elected. The annual meeting also opened the way for a voting member to demand an investigation into whether TONO's articles of association are in accordance with the Cooperatives Act.
/ 12/06/2014 / codexTONO's annual meeting was held yesterday at the Popsenteret in Oslo. Following this, TONO has gained two new board members, while two were re-elected. New deputy members were also elected. The annual meeting also opened the way for a voting member to demand an investigation into whether TONO's articles of association are in accordance with the Cooperatives Act.
179 of TONO's members with voting rights were registered for TONO's annual meeting yesterday. The annual report and annual accounts, which had been sent out in advance, in addition to the audit report and the control committee's calculations, were approved.
CEO Cato Strøm gave an overall presentation of the key figures, as well as an overview of what TONO has been working on in the past year. The accounts show pleasing figures: A turnover of NOK 470 million (an increase of 7,5 percent from the previous year) and a profit for distribution of NOK 400 million (an increase of 7,7 percent from last year). It is the online and concert areas in particular that are driving the growth.
Cultural means
TONO's group associations NOPA, the Norwegian Composers' Association and the Music Publishers were this time invited to account for their use of the cultural funds received from TONO. Presentations were given by Ragnar Bjerkreim (NOPA), Åse Hedstrøm (Norwegian Composers' Association) and Philip Kruse (Music Publishers).
Legal consideration
In 2013, TONO's annual meeting instructed TONO's board to prepare an independent legal assessment of whether TONO's articles of association provisions regarding the composition of TONO's bodies and the use of cultural funds, respectively, are in accordance with the provisions of the Cooperatives Act.. A legal report has been prepared by Prof. Dr. Juris Geir Woxholt at the Faculty of Law in Oslo, and sent out with the meeting papers in advance of the annual meeting. The board's proposal to take note of the report and not proceed with the matter was adopted with 17 votes in favor. There were a total of 161 votes in the chamber at the time.
TONO member Helge Sten believed that the report was not in line with the decision at the annual meeting on 30 May 2013, and put forward a proposal to open it up for legal review. 17 of those present supported the proposal, which is sufficient according to the Cooperatives Act. This means that any of TONO's members with voting rights can request legal review at the Oslo District Court, but within one month of the date of the annual meeting.
New board members and deputies
The nomination committee's recommendation was sent out with the annual meeting documents. The meeting chair explained the proposed resolution, and the resolution was put to a unanimous vote. The decision resulted in TONO's board now consisting of the following members and alternates:
| Manager | Deputy representative | |
| NOPA | Ingrid Kindem (new) | Kari Bremnes (1st alternate) (new)Bent Åserud (2nd alternate) (new) |
| Bjørn Eidsvåg | ||
| NKF | Ase Hedstrom | Glenn Erik Haugland (1nd alternate)Kristin Bolstad (2nd alternate) (new) |
| Bjørn Bolstad Skjelbred (re-election) | ||
| NMFF | Philip Kruse | Lisbeth Frøystadvåg (1st alternate)Unni Boretti (2nd alternate) (new) |
| Stine Lieng (new) | ||
| Free space | Bendik Hofseth, NOPA | Bugge Wesseltoft, NOPA |
| Rita Engedalen (re-election) | Stian Westerhus (re-election) | |
| Ine Kristine Hoem | Knut Schreiner |
The chairman concluded the meeting by expressing a big thank you and presenting flowers to the two outgoing board members, Ragnar Bjerkreim and Unni Boretti.