Eur 51.3 million distributed to music authors and publishers in 2019 by Teosto

In 2019, music authors and publishers received EUR 51.3 million from Teosto as royalties for the use of their music. Of this sum, EUR 25 million was paid to Finnish and EUR 26.3 million to international music authors and publishers.

The 2019 figures released by Teosto are as yet unconfirmed due to the copyright society’s spring meeting being postponed to August. 

“The coronavirus pandemic forced us to exceptionally postpone our Annual General Meeting to August. In view of transparency, it is important that we release our financial statements and transparency report in the spring, according to our normal schedule. However, we will have to wait until after the summer for the General Meeting to adopt the financial statements,” says Risto Salminen, CEO of Teosto.

Teosto reported its best ever turnover in 2019, with turnover increasing by 2.9 per cent to EUR 72.1 million. The copyright society achieved the good result by collecting music copyright royalties, cutting costs and making operations more efficient. However, this year’s results will be very different due to the coronavirus outbreak. 

“The coronavirus will have a significant impact on composers, lyricists, arrangers and publishers who receive copyright royalties. We expect the sum of copyright royalties collected to decrease by approximately EUR 10 million or more. Events, concerts and festivals as well as the whole area of background music will suffer the most. The full impact of the coronavirus will be felt starting in late 2020 and will extend late into next year. We will do our utmost to alert the Government to the distress and long-lasting need for support that rightsholders are experiencing due to the lockdown measures,” says Salminen.

Radio and TV the most significant sources of income

Teosto collected a total of EUR 9.5 million in online royalties (2018: EUR 8.9 million). The increase in royalties was largely related to video-on-demand services, such as Netflix or HBO, which used music from films and TV series, for example.

Despite the growth in web services, radio and TV continue to be the most important sources of income to music authors and publishers. Last year, 51 per cent of the royalties collected by Teosto came from music played on the radio and TV (2018: 52%). 

The share of events, concerts and festivals increased to 19 per cent of royalties collected by Teosto (2018: 18%). The royalties collected from events are a substantial source of income to Teosto’s Finnish customers in particular, as Finnish festivals and events are heavily dependent on Finnish artists and music.

Finnish music is played abroad 

According to foreign royalties paid by Teosto, Finnish music is most frequently played abroad in Germany and Sweden. Remuneration from abroad amounted to EUR 3.3 million. The total of EUR 3.8 million collected in 2018 is not comparable due to the retroactive royalties included in the figure.

In 2019, total copyright royalties paid to music authors and publishers through Teosto amounted to EUR 72.1 million (2018: EUR 70.1 million). The amount includes royalties collected by Teosto and other copyright organisations as well as compensation for lending and private copying.

The amount paid to Finnish music authors and publishers decreased by EUR 2.3 million, largely due to the change in the schedule of payment to customers. In 2018, royalties collected in the TV area were paid six, instead of the normal four, times annually, which led to an increase in the sum paid.

Teosto improved its operational efficiency considerably in 2019: the average cost percentage was 15.4 compared to 17.4 in 2018.

Corporate social responsibility report published online

Teosto published its first corporate social responsibility report in 2019. The report provides an evaluation of the copyright society’s operations in terms of financial, social and environmental responsibility and good governance. In the future, Teosto aims to provide increasingly transparent and comprehensive reports on its operations also from the perspective of corporate responsibility. 

The year 2019 for Teosto in a nutshell:
• Teosto paid a total of EUR 51.3 million in royalties to music authors and publishers.
• Distributions to Finnish music authors totalled EUR 25 million.
• Of the collected royalties, 51% originated from radio and TV, 19% from events,
15% from background music and 15% from online music and video services.
• The total sum of copyright royalties collected was EUR 72.1 million.