TONO is modernizing the concert tariff

TONO is now modernizing the concert tariff to better reflect the reality of the concert market, where ticket sales often only represent a portion of the total concert revenues. At the same time, TONO is eager for organizers to have ample time to adjust to the changes, and therefore, the model will be fully implemented from 2027.

 / 30/05/2024 / Kristian Dugstad

The new concert tariff means that from 2027 onwards, TONO payments to composers and lyricists will be calculated as a share of all relevant concert revenues, not just ticket revenues. All relevant concert revenues include any public or private grants and support for concert implementation that each concert organizer may have. Grants unrelated to concert implementation should therefore not be included in the royalty calculation for composers and lyricists.

TONO is concerned that the changes should not unnecessarily burden smaller organizers and individual events with additional administration. Therefore, a minimum threshold is established for what is included in the calculation basis.

Grants and support under NOK 50,000 per year will not be included as part of the calculation basis. If one receives more than NOK 50,000 in support, you also deduct NOK 50,000 first before determining the size of the grant to be included in the royalty calculation along with gross ticket revenues.

The organizer defines what types of grants are concert-relevant

Grants and support come in many forms – ranging from general subsidies to earmarked funds. It is the concert organizer themselves who define which grants and support are directly related to concert implementation, and thus are concert-relevant revenues to be reported to TONO. TONO will also assist in clarifying what constitutes concert-relevant revenues.

The calculation is based on TONO’s established tiered model. In the tiered model, there is also a gradual change towards 2027. Here, the percentage will gradually increase from 2 to 3 percent in tier 4, which applies to concerts with revenues exceeding approximately NOK 220,000 (current rates). The first change will occur on April 1, 2025, when this tier increases to 2.5 percent. Then to 3 percent on April 1, 2026. The percentage rates for tiers 1-3 remain unchanged, as does the minimum amount.

Interested in dialogue with organizers

TONO aims for these changes not to entail more bureaucracy and increased administrative costs for concert organizers. There is a larger digitization and simplification project underway at TONO, and by 2027, our goal is for all reporting to be easily done digitally.

TONO is now starting the work of finalizing all the details and solutions for the practical implementation so that the introduction can occur with the greatest possible degree of simplicity and predictability. TONO is committed to having a good dialogue with concert organizers and other stakeholders in this work, and therefore, we will invite to dialogue meetings where opportunities will be given to provide input on the practical implementation and to get answers to any questions you may have.