Teosto collected EUR 70.1 million in music royalties in 2021
Teosto collected EUR 70.1 million in royalties for composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers. The amount includes royalties collected by Teosto and by other collective management organisations for Teosto as well as compensation for lending and private copying. This information is included in Teosto’s annual report and financial statements, which were approved by Teosto’s General Meeting on 18 May 2022.
Even though the COVID-19 pandemic continued to impact the music industry, the amount of royalties collected by Teosto increased by nearly 7%, i.e. by about EUR 4.5 million, compared to 2020. At the same time, Teosto’s own operating expenses decreased by up to 4.2%.
Royalties collected for concerts, gigs and festivals increased only slightly compared to 2020, from EUR 0.9 million to EUR 1.6 million. In 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, up to EUR 5.2 million in royalties was collected in the live category.
“2021 was a difficult year for our rightholder members, as most concerts and festival performances were banned as a result of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions. The fact that people missed music was very apparent in the growth of music use in media, as the royalty revenue in the online category grew by a record 26% during the year,” Teosto’s CEO Risto Salminen says.
The strong growth in online music listening also reflects a broader change in how media is consumed, as the amount of royalties collected for this kind of listening has nearly doubled over the past five years.
EUR 3 million in COVID-19 financial support paid to music authors and publishers
Teosto used a record EUR 4.9 million to promote Finnish music (2020: EUR 2.3 million). Most of the money allocated to the promotion of Finnish music went to the COVID-19 financial support for music authors and publishers, which amounted to a total of EUR 3 million.
In addition to the EUR 4.9 million, Teosto also paid EUR 1.1 million to fund the activities of the Finnish Music Foundation, among others.
The COVID-19 pandemic increased the need for promotion of interests in the entire music industry
2021 was a historic year for promoting the interests of the music industry when it comes to the number of activities. Teosto took dozens of measures related to COVID-19 financial support, negotiating unemployment benefits for creative professionals, private copying compensation and the national preparation of the Copyright Directive.
“We hope that the pandemic-related restrictions are now a thing of the past, and that music can finally be performed without interruption to people who crave culture and experiences. Even though new uncertainties have emerged, the viable Finnish music industry helps ensure our psychological resilience,” Risto Salminen says.
Teosto also further increased its cooperation with other Finnish music industry organisations in March 2021, when it moved to the Port of Music in Keilaniemi, Espoo, setting up under the same roof with Gramex, GT Music Licences Ltd and six other music industry organisations.
Teosto measures the carbon footprint of its operations and saw significant improvement in 2021
In 2021, Teosto’s carbon footprint decreased significantly, falling from 80.8 tonnes to 53.4 tonnes. The most significant factor was the COVID-19 pandemic, which minimised travel and events. Most of the emissions came from energy consumption.
In Teosto’s new Sustainability Report, Teosto describes its operations from the perspective of cultural responsibility, financial responsibility, social responsibility and environmental responsibility.