International royalties

We collect royalties for the use of your music around the world and promote the international success of music that we represent.

Composer-producer Tido
Member of Teosto since 2015

We collect royalties from around the world

As a Teosto member, you will receive international royalties from performing and reproduction rights as well as from online services. You don’t need to be a member in other societies to enjoy international royalties.

• Performing rights are administered around the world by various copyright societies: we have signed reciprocal representation agreements with them in more than 100 countries.
• Reproduction rights are administered under Nordic Copyright Bureau NCB’s reciprocal representation and cooperation agreements.
• We handle the licensing for multinational online services (e.g. Spotify, YouTube, Netflix) on your behalf.

Based on these agreements, our international partners collect royalties in their countries and regions also for the music of Teosto members and pay the royalties to us. We pay the royalties to you as part of Teosto’s regular distributions.

What do you need in order to receive royalties from abroad?

• An international author identifier, i.e. IPI number, which all Teosto members receive automatically
• Your works need to be registered, which gives your work an international ISWC number
• Membership of a copyright society – As a Teosto member, you will receive royalties from more than 100 countries

Please note that you should also register a work in Teosto’s web service if your co-authors are members of another copyright society (or don’t belong to any copyright society).

For live performances (concerts and gigs) outside of Finland, remember to report your performance in our web service.

If your music is played on TV channels, in video on demand services or in cinemas outside of Finalnd, please submit a claim for these performances to us.

If you know that your music has been performed abroad and you expect a distribution of more than EUR 1,000, you can apply for an expedited distribution for the royalties from abroad.

We also support the success of music we represent in other ways

Through Teosto, you are also part of the global music community as a music author. With the help of our networks, we ensure that your rights are protected wherever your music is played.

Information and advice

We offer services and support throughout your career in Finnish, Swedish and English. We share information about different markets and the more detailed logic of royalty collection. Our member organisations the Finnish Music Creators’ Association and the Society of Finnish Composers also provide advice on matters related to, for example, contracts.

Grants and support

You can apply for grants and support from our member organisations the Finnish Music Creators’ Association and the Society of Finnish Composers. Different forms of internationalisation support are also offered by Music Finland and the Finnish Music Foundation, funded by Teosto.

The Teosto Cultural Foundation started operating at the end of 2024. Its operations will focus on areas such as supporting the diversity and internationality of music.

Contacts and visibility

We offer contacts through our international network. We contribute to the funding of Music Finland, an organisation that focuses on exporting Finnish music and offers music professionals internationalisation training, export trips and showcase performances at both Finnish and international music events.

Membership in another copyright society

If the main market for your music is outside Finland, you may wonder whether you need to become a member of a copyright society in another country. This is possible under Teosto’s membership agreement, as you can remove some countries or geographical areas from Teosto’s administration and assign the collection of royalties in these countries to another country’s copyright society in order to receive royalties from that area faster. In other words, you can be a member of both Teosto and a foreign copyright society at the same time.

However, different copyright societies have their own licensing practices, distribution schedules and administration rates, which may differ from those of Teosto. Different copyright societies may also have different restrictive regulations and schedules regarding the termination of a customer relationship or a membership. It is a good idea to learn more about these in advance.

Always consider first whether it would be worthwhile for you to remove rights from Teosto’s administration, as Teosto takes care of collecting royalties from almost everywhere in the world. Our royalty collection is particularly efficient, fast and affordable in European countries

• From 1 January 2025, Teosto will not charge any processing fees for royalties received from abroad.
• We collect royalties from the Nordic countries and other European countries faster and more affordably than a non-European copyright society does.