Teosto’s fourth round of COVID-19 financial support: Applications are open until the end of February

The COVID-19 restrictions, which have been in effect for over two years, have significantly weakened the financial situation of the music industry, affecting also composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers. The royalties music authors and publishers receive from their work have decreased significantly as a result of the restrictions in 2020 and 2021, and the effects might last into 2023.

In December 2021, Teosto’s General Meeting decided to hold a fourth round of applications for COVID-19 financial support. The goal of COVID-19 financial support is to reduce the loss of royalties experienced by professional composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Teosto has distributed a total of over three million euros of COVID-19 financial support in 2020–2021.

Applications for the fourth round are open 10–28 Feb 2022. The total amount of financial support is one million euros. The funding will come from the Teosto Fund, which was established in 2009 to secure the continued promotion of Finnish musical arts.

Who can apply for financial support?

All author and publisher members of Teosto are eligible to apply for COVID-19 financial support, including members who have applied for or received financial support earlier.

The criteria for receiving support are the same as they were in 2021. The criteria consist of royalties paid to the applicant for certain distribution categories in 2018–2020. The criteria include the distribution categories that have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic either directly or indirectly.

Application criteria

• Teosto membership
• The amount of royalties paid in 2018–2020 must be at least EUR 1,500 (gross) for certain distribution categories, the main categories being concerts and live events, commercial radio and commercial television, background music, stage, cinema, Internet PVR services and Yleisradio.
• The support is intended for creative and artistic work in the music industry. That is why heirs of a composer, lyricist or arranger cannot apply for the coronavirus financial support for music creators. Heirs who publish music and are Teosto publisher members can apply for COVID-19 financial support for music publishers.

Information about the distributions you have received can be found in Teosto’s web service.

Information about the financial support

• The support is paid to music authors as a grant that is exempt from tax, provided that the conditions laid down in the Income Tax Act are met. Based on similar criteria, publishers are paid financial support that is taxable income in accordance with the Act on the Taxation of Business Income. 
• The smallest amount of financial support is EUR 150 and the largest is EUR 5,000. The final amounts of financial support are determined on the basis of the number of applications received.
• The amount of support is made proportional to the previous distributions received by the applicant in those distribution categories that are included in the support criteria.

How to apply for COVID-19 support

The financial support can be applied for through the Klaavi application service at www.klaavi.fi (Teosto’s COVID-19 support).

You don’t need to report your Teosto distributions on the application form. These will be automatically checked during the processing of applications. Other grants and financial support you may have received do not affect COVID-19 financial support.

You only need your Teosto member number in order to apply for the support. You can find your member number by signing in to Teosto’s web service and opening the Member Information tab.

The support application is addressed to Teosto member organisation funds through the Klaavi service, but the applicant does not have to be a member of any member organisation. The applicant only needs to be a Teosto member.

The financial support is applied for as a person (music author) or a company (music publisher). The support can only be applied for once using the same member number. 

• Music authors can apply for financial support from the Finnish Music Creators’ Association (Music Creators’ Fund) or the Sibelius Fund of the Society of Finnish Composers. The criteria for receiving financial support are the same for both funds.
• Music publishers can apply for financial support from the fund of the Finnish Music Publishers Association. The criteria for receiving financial support are the same as those of the funds that provide financial support to music authors. If a music publisher has several member numbers in one catalogue, they can apply for the support separately for each number. Multiple member numbers cannot be added to the same application. 
• Publishing companies that are owned by a Teosto music author member and are a Teosto publisher member can apply for both COVID-19 financial support for music publishers and COVID-19 financial support for music authors, if they have separate member numbers. The applications of the music author member and the publishing company are processed and decided on separately.
• Music author members who use the “company model” can apply for the financial support for music authors.

Application processing and the payment of financial support

The applications are processed and approved by a committee appointed by Teosto’s Board of Directors that consists of composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers. The committee also includes Teosto office representatives.

The granted financial support will be paid in April 2022. We will inform each applicant of our decision personally by email by the end of March.

More information:

• Klaavi application system: www.klaavi.fi
• Customer service for COVID-19 financial support: koronatuki@teosto.fi, tel. +358 (0)9 6810 1112. Open Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–8 p.m. On the last two days of application – which are Saturday, 26 February and Sunday, 27 February – the customer service will be open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.