Teosto’s General Meeting decided in favour of a new round of COVID-19 financial support for spring 2022
At Teosto, the ultimate decision-making power is exercised by its members at General Meetings, which are held twice a year. The members gathered for a hybrid meeting on Wednesday, 15 December. At the regular Annual General Autumn Meeting, the members approved, for example, the action plan and budget for next year. The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic can still be widely seen in the music industry, which led to the decision to continue providing Teosto’s COVID-19 financial support in spring 2022.
Teosto’s General Meeting was held at Finlandia Hall, where some of the members gathered in accordance with COVID-19-safe arrangements. A large share of the participants took part in the meeting over a remote connection.
As the action plan was being discussed, Teosto’s CEO Risto Salminen emphasised that 2022 is, in any case, looking to be a better year than the previous one. If the COVID-19 situation stays under control, strong recovery is forecast for many categories of music use. However, the situation still involves plenty of uncertainty.
“The COVID-19 situation worsened again in late autumn, but the royalties collected by Teosto are forecast to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2022 if restrictions are not reintroduced.”
However, royalties from the use of music are paid to Teosto members after a delay. The situation in the summer and early autumn of 2021 will still be reflected in the March 2022 distribution. Because of this, a proposal that a further EUR 1 million in special COVID-19 financial support be given to Teosto members in spring 2022 was approved at the General Meeting.
“We are seeking to open applications in early February so that the financial support could be paid to applicants by 30 April 2022,” says Salminen.
In accordance with the decision, the criteria that was used for the 2021 support applications will also be used for the spring 2022 financial support. The preconditions for receiving financial support are being a Teosto member and having received at least EUR 1,500 in royalties during 2018–2020 in selected distribution categories. The support covers the distribution categories considered to be particularly affected by COVID-19.
In addition, 2022 is also a significant year when it comes to the promotion of interests. The implementation of the EU Copyright Directive has been delayed in Finland, and the reform the Finnish Copyright Act, which was widely criticised during consultation, will likely be reviewed by Parliament after modification in spring 2022. Teosto is updating its strategy in early 2022 and continues to digitalise its operations and improve its customer experience.