Teosto Preparing for an International Work Database Upgrade Project – One-month Pause in the Registration of Works Upcoming
The international ICE work database will be upgraded at the turn of 2025. The upgrade will cause a pause of about one month in the registration of works and work information, which will also affect Teosto’s services.
There will be a pause of just over a month in the registration and editing of work information at the turn of the year, when the international ICE work database is upgraded. In addition to Teosto, users of the ICE work database include STIM in Sweden, PRS in the UK, Koda in Denmark, Tono in Norway and Sabam in Belgium.
According to the current project plan, the upgrade will be implemented between December 2024 and January 2025. Seeing as this is an IT system project, the schedule is subject to change. On this page, we have compiled up-to-date information on the schedule of the ICE database upgrade and its effects on Teosto members.
- See the effects on Teosto’s author members
- See the effects on Teosto’s publisher members
- See the effects on Teosto’s performer customers
- See the effects on Teosto’s licensing customers
This article will be updated as the information changes.
The project at a glance
Teosto has been using the international ICE work database since 2015. The system is maintained by International Copyright Enterprise, which is owned by copyright societies such as STIM in Sweden and PRS in the UK.
The ICE work database contains author and publisher information and royalty shares for more than 47 million works. The database is now being upgraded to a new, more efficient version called ICE Cube.
The purpose of the database upgrade is to speed up and improve the processing of work information and to ensure the continuity of the work database.
The new work database will be deployed in January 2025. The deployment will be preceded by a freeze period of about one month, during which new works or publishing agreement information cannot be added to the database and changes cannot be made to registered work information.
Effects of the database upgrade on Teosto members
The upgrading of the international ICE work database will cause a pause of just over a month in the submission of work notifications and the registration of works. This freeze period will affect music authors and publishers who are Teosto members.
The upgrading of the international ICE work database will cause a pause of just over a month in the submission of work notifications and the registration of works. This freeze period will affect music authors and publishers who are Teosto members.
- See the effects on Teosto’s author members
- See the effects on Teosto’s publisher members
- See the effects on Teosto’s performer customers
- See the effects on Teosto’s licensing customers
Effects on Teosto’s author members
The last day work notifications can be submitted in Teosto’s web service before the work database freeze period is Wednesday, 11 December 2024. (If you have a publishing agreement, agree with the publisher on which party will submit the work notifications.)
After that date, it will not be possible to submit work notifications until mid-January, when the new ICE Cube database is deployed.
We still recommend submitting the work notification as soon as the work is completed and its royalty shares have been agreed on – the work notification can be submitted before the publication of the work.
As there will be a significant pause in the submission and registration of work notifications, we ask that you submit work notifications for all completed works as soon as possible, and by 11 December 2024 at the latest.
During the freeze period, Teosto’s web service will be open, but you will not be able to edit your own works or submit new work notifications.
You will be able to browse the general work search and your own works in the web service, but work information will be retrieved from the frozen database. In practice, the database will show the works for which work notifications have been submitted by 11 December 2024 and processed by 13 December 2024.
The same applies to unconfirmed and unidentified works – the web service will display the information from the frozen database. Unconfirmed works cannot be confirmed during the freeze period.
If the work notification contains deviating arrangement shares (or the work notification requires other manual processing), it is possible that the work notification will not be processed by 13 December 2024, in which case the work will not be added to the international work database until January 2025, when the new ICE Cube database has been deployed.
N.B. During the freeze period, Teosto will also be unable to add works to the database or update work information.
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Notifications of self-administration cannot be submitted during the freeze period, which means that the last day to submit a notification of self-administration is Wednesday, 11 December 2024. Notifications of self-administration received by that date will be processed immediately after the deployment of the ICE Cube work database.
After the freezing of the work database, it will not be possible to submit notifications of self-administration until mid-January, when the new ICE Cube database is deployed.
Please note that the notification of self-administration must be given a minimum of 30 days prior to the desired start date of self-administration. This means that you should submit notifications of self-administration for January–February 2025 by 11 December 2024.
Remember also that a notification of self-administration can only be registered for a work that has been registered into the work database. If you have a new work that you want to self-administer, please first make a work notification with sufficient lead time (at least two business days for standard works), so that you have time to also submit a notification of self-administration.
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Complaints can be made as usual regarding works in the database.
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The database upgrade will not affect the December distribution on 12 December 2024, as the distribution will already have been made at the start of the freeze period. The practical arrangements for the March distribution will be made after the freeze period has ended.
Effects on Teosto’s publisher members
The last day for registering publishing agreement information in Teosto’s web service before the work database freeze period is Monday, 2 December 2024.
After that date, it will not be possible to register publishing agreement information via the web service until mid-January, when the new ICE Cube database is deployed.
As there will be a significant pause in the registration of publishing agreement information, we ask that you register all published works or publishing agreement information for previously registered works as soon as possible, and by 2 December 2024 at the latest.
During the freeze period, Teosto will also not be able to update publishing agreement information or add it for works.
Effects on Teosto’s performer customers
Performance notifications can be submitted also during the freeze period of the work database, but performed works can only be retrieved from the frozen database. In practice, the database will show the works for which work notifications have been submitted by 11 December 2024 and processed by 13 December 2024. (For more information, see Effects on Teosto’s author members .)
If the performance contains works that are not in the work database, we recommend submitting the performance notification only after the ICE Cube database has been deployed (in mid-January).
The deadline for performance notifications for October–December is 31 January 2024, which means that there will be plenty of time to submit a performance notification before the deadline even after the freeze period has ended. Please remember to first submit a work notification in the web service and then submit a performance notification.
Effects on Teosto’s licensing or music user customers
The database upgrade will not affect our licensing customers.
Frequently asked questions and answers about the database upgrade
Why can’t I submit new work notifications or publishing agreement information or edit work and publishing agreement information between 12 December 2024 and mid-January?
The ICE work database used by Teosto (and five other copyright societies) will be upgraded to a new version. As part of the upgrade process, the work database will be frozen, which means that you will not be able to add new works or publishing agreement information to the database or edit work information in the database.
Will Teosto’s staff be able to edit work or publishing agreement information during the freeze period?
No, they will not. During the freeze period, the work database will be frozen, and changes cannot be made to it.
Why is the work database being upgraded?
The international ICE work database has been in use for several years. The database will be upgraded to the new ICE Cube database so that work information can be processed more efficiently and quickly. The upgrade will have a positive impact on the quality and processing of data as well as the speed of the systems.
Will the submission of work notifications change, in any way, as a result of the database upgrade?
The process for submitting work notifications will remain the same.
Will the change affect distributions?
The transition to the new database will not affect distribution amounts, reports or principles.
When will the transition take place and which services will be affected?
According to the current plan, the transition to the new ICE Cube work database will begin in mid-December. The work database will be frozen so that works registered by 11 December 2024 and processed by 13 December 2024 will be included in the frozen database. Similarly, publishing agreement information registered by 2 December and processed by 13 December will be included in the frozen database.
This page lists the effects on the services for authors, publishers and performers.
You can also become a Teosto member as usual during the work database upgrade.
How has Teosto ensured that the new work database will work as it should?
All copyright societies using the ICE system (PRS, STIM, Teosto, Koda, Tono, Sabam) have tested the service together from both a technical and an operational point of view. Teosto’s project team has been testing the system for more than a year to ensure that the system is of high quality and meets the needs of both Teosto and our members.
Will all existing work information be transferred directly to the new work database?
Yes, all work and author information, publishing agreements and royalty shares will be transferred to the new ICE Cube work database.
Will the change affect the distribution view of the web service?
No, it will not.
Where can I get more information or help with problems?
Please contact Teosto customer service or your account manager.