A strong 2023 for Teosto – more and more music authors and publishers receive Teosto royalties
Teosto, which collects music copyright royalties for composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers in Finland, increased its revenue by almost 4%, from EUR 80.7 million to EUR 83.8 million. The collected royalties were also distributed to a larger number of music authors and publishers. This information is included in Teosto’s annual report and financial statements, which were approved by Teosto’s General Meeting on 15 May 2024.
For Teosto, 2023 was a strong year when it comes to royalties: the amount of royalties collected increased by 3.9% year-on-year to a record EUR 83.8 million. Of the total amount, the share of royalties collected directly by Teosto increased to a record high of EUR 75.7 million (2022: EUR 72.8 million).
A record amount of royalties, a total of EUR 70.7 million, will also be distributed to rightholders represented by Teosto for music use in 2023. The total distribution increased by 0.6% when compared to 2022. The total distribution means the royalties collected in a given year, less operating costs and cultural contributions to the Teosto Fund, plus transferable appropriations.
Last year, royalties were distributed to a record number of 12,855 rightholders (2022: 12,148 rightholders). The increase in the number of royalty recipients was almost 6%. There was also a slight increase in the number of individuals receiving royalties totalling more than EUR 20,000 a year.
Teosto’s own operating costs increased as expected when compared to 2022 and were at the budgeted level. The factors influencing operating costs included investments in digital services in line with Teosto’s strategy, such as an overhaul of accounting and reporting systems. As costs increased as a result of future investments, the operating expense percentage was higher than the previous year’s at°14.6%°(2022: 12.6%).
Finnish music is also increasingly being played abroad. The performing right royalties that Teosto collects for Finnish music rightholders through its international network of partners increased by 22.5% to EUR 3.8 million. Foreign performing right royalties are an important indicator of international demand for Finnish music. The largest amounts of international royalties were collected from Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.
In 2023, a total of 1,645 new composer and music author members joined Teosto. The number of composers and music authors who left Teosto was 23. The number of voting members was 893 (2022: 900). At the end of the year, Teosto had a total of 40,671 rightholder members: music composers, lyricists, arrangers and publishers.
Bold steps towards a non-discriminatory music industry
In 2023, only 21% of Teosto’s music author members were people whose legal gender is female, and only 23% of the new members that joined Teosto that year were female. In spring 2023, Teosto commissioned a member survey to find out what could be the cause of the phenomenon.
According to a survey we published in March 2023, 70% of female composers and lyricists feel that the music industry is unequal, whereas the corresponding figure for men is only 32%. The biggest reasons given for this were the prevailing attitudes in the music industry and the lack of networks and role models for women.
“As a strong Finnish player in the music industry, we want to take responsibility for the future of Finnish music. Our strategic objective is to provide a knowledge base, raise concerns in public discussion and engage in discussion in order to promote diversity and non-discrimination in the music industry. However, no one can do this alone: we need the entire music industry to take part in these efforts. We hope that new diverse music will be continuously created in Finland, and that new generations will be able to start creating music regardless of their gender or ethnic background,” says Risto Salminen, CEO of Teosto.
The Teosto Cultural Foundation was established to ensure the promotion of Finnish creative musical art
The preparations for using money from the Teosto Fund to establish a foundation, which began in 2019, were completed at an extraordinary general meeting held on 13 December 2023, at which the voting members made the historic decision to approve the establishment of the Teosto Cultural Foundation and appointed the foundation’s first Board of Trustees. The purpose of the Teosto Cultural Foundation is to promote Finnish creative musical art and improve the working conditions of those who create it. Anna Baijars was appointed as the Chair of the Board of Trustees.
About EUR 40 million in investment assets from the Teosto Fund will be gradually transferred to the foundation on the basis of the plan and decisions by the general meeting.
Learn more: 2023 was a record year for Teosto: copyright royalties increased to EUR 83.8 million (news in Finnish, 26 March 2024)
