The matter in summary: • From 1 January 2024, 4,500 Norwegian choirs, bands, big bands and orchestras will be without a collective Tono agreement.• This is because Tono and the Norwegian Music Council do not agree on the conditions for a new agreement.• Each individual ensemble must then pay in, apply for permission and report all concerts to Tono himself.• This leads to more administrative work and increased expenses for the ensembles, and there is concern about how this will work in practice.• Tono wants to increase the bill by over forty percent from next year, which the Norwegian Music Council does not want to participate in.• Tono, for his part, believes that they must work for their members; composers and arrangers, and that the increase in the fee to the Norwegian Music Council is not unreasonable. (The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication). From 1 January 2024, 4,500 choirs, bands, large bands and orchestras that are part of the umbrella organization Norwegian Music Council will be without a collective Tono agreement. This means that each and every one of the 4,500 ensembles must pay in, apply for permission and report all concerts to Tono. – I think this is a shame, says cantor Øivind Mikalsen, who conducts several of the children’s and youth choirs in Bodø Cathedral. The choir is a member of Ung kirkesang and has benefited greatly from a collective agreement. But that’s over now. Why? Tono and the Norwegian Music Council do not agree on conditions for a new agreement. Then everyone who is part of an organization under the Norwegian Music Council is left to fend for themselves. – The agreement cuts everyone across the board, even if the choirs are different, says the court clerk. Singing in church services is not subject to tax. That’s what his choir does most of the time. – What is unfair is that children’s and youth choir organizations have to pay for concerts that do not take place. It is not the case that all choirs hold their own concerts every year, says Øivind Mikalsen, cantor in Bodø Cathedral. Photo: Karina Haug – The Norwegian Music Council already pays more than it will cost the choirs to make the concerts. It is Tono who has to move here, he believes. – Affects amateur music life In Bodø, the men’s choir Bodø octet is also affected by the fact that there will no longer be a common agreement for the choirs and bands. – This primarily affects the amateur music scene, which basically has harsh conditions. It’s quite dramatic. That’s what Mikael Rönnberg, who conducts the men’s choir, says. They are members of the Norwegian Choral Association, which is under the Norwegian Music Council. – Municipal finances are already hitting the amateur music scene hard, especially in Bodø, but also in many other Norwegian municipalities, he says. Mikael Rönnberg, conductor of the Bodø Octet, says it is very unfortunate for the amateur music scene that Tono and the Norwegian Music Council do not come to an agreement. – Basically, they have tough conditions. Photo: Erika Hebbert When will they get on top of this both more administrative work and an increased expense item. For an ensemble that holds 2–3 concerts a year, the extra expense will amount to a few thousand Swedish kroner. – The financial consequence will not in itself overturn the operations of choirs and bands. The main problem is that it becomes incredibly cumbersome, says the conductor. – There will be a lot of extra work for those who administer them. I don’t understand how it should work in practice. Before, the ensembles only had to report what they had sung or played after the concert. Now they also have to apply to be allowed to perform the works and get it approved before the concert. The Bodø octet is among the 4,500 ensembles affected by the fact that the Norwegian Music Council and Tono have not reached an agreement on a new framework agreement. Photo: Jørgen Mathisen But it is not just each individual band or choir that gets this extra administrative job. It will also affect Tono himself. It will be up to them to approve applications for up to 10,000 concerts a year. The Bodø octet sings the Swedish Christmas carol “Jul, jul brijning jul” by Gustav Nordkvist, who died in 1949. Therefore, this is a free work. – It is obvious that this causes us a lot of extra work. We also do not understand how Tono will have the capacity to pre-accept repertoire. That’s what Richard Lindal, leader of the Bodø Octet, says. The choir often has concerts at short notice. Therefore, they do not understand how it will work in practice without a framework agreement from next year. The choir in Bodø is asking, among other things, how the country’s choir will resolve the requirement to report the number of audience members on 17 May. Photo: Ole Andreas Bø / news – What should we do if they don’t approve the repertoire, so we don’t get to sing the song we’ve rehearsed? And how long in advance do they want us to report this? And how will the corps be able to estimate how many people will listen to them on 17 May? The questions are many. Because the choristers also don’t understand how Tono is going to manage all this work. Therefore, they await the big worry a little. – We can hope that this will be resolved, says chorister Hans-Aksel Johnsen. – Shouldn’t cut off the branches of the music volunteering The background for the framework agreement now expiring lies in a demand from Tono to increase the bill by over forty percent from next year. – In its simplest form, it is about Tono wanting more money than we are willing to pay. That’s what Bjarne Dæhli, secretary general of the Norwegian Music Council, says. The reason why Tono is raising the rates is their interpretation of the new law on collective copyright, believes Bjarne Dæhli, secretary general of the Norwegian Music Council. Photo: Privat In five years, the payment from the Norwegian Music Council has increased significantly. The amount has also been price-adjusted every year, according to Dæhli. Last year, the Norwegian Music Council paid approximately 4.3 million to Tono, on behalf of the 4,500 ensembles around Norway. Now they have asked for just under NOK 2 million more from next year. The Norwegian Music Council will not participate in that. Without a joint framework agreement, Tono must raise this money himself. Dæhli thinks that is unrealistic. – Here there is a landscape with volunteer choir parents, trustees in children’s choirs and church singing. Many of these do not have a relationship with Tono, says Dæhli. Therefore, he believes there will be many who will not remember or be able to report the repertoire correctly for their concerts both before and after. The Norwegian Music Council has collected several signatures to ask Tono to return to the negotiating table. In the past they have negotiated with the administration, now they hope the board of Tono will come forward. Photo: Jonatan Barstad – I think Tono underestimates how costly it will be to deal with each team individually, and what income this will give them, says the general secretary. He mentions that Tono is now going from one customer relationship to having to track down 3,000-4,000 new individual customers – One invoice sent to the Norwegian Music Council this year must now be replaced by up to 10,000 new bills in 2024, says Dæhli. Tono: – Not a dream situation But Tono for his part says that they have to work for their members; composers and arrangers. – The challenge with the agreement was that we gave such a big discount in the price that they could no longer be defended to give a reasonable payment to those who make the music that is played. That’s what Willy Martinsen, press contact at Tono, says. – The tono fee is not a trick, it is income for those who write the music, says Willy Martinsen, press contact at Tono. Photo: Tono / SCJ In addition, he refers to the new law on collective management, which gives them new requirements to treat organizers equally. – As a result, we could no longer give such a large discount to the Norwegian Music Council. It is too little considering the composers who make a living arranging or composing for choirs and bands. Tono therefore does not think that the increase in the remuneration of the Norwegian Music Council is unreasonable. I think Tono must take resources from other tasks In Bodø, conductor Mikael Rönnberg sits on both sides of the table. He is himself an arranger and composes music. Thus, he also receives income through Tono. That is why he is also worried about the big administrative job that awaits Tono after the New Year. – The arrangement they set up must necessarily take time and resources from other important tasks that Tono may have. This is therefore a very cumbersome solution for both parties, says Rönnberg. – Tono is very important. It is very important that we have Tono who safeguards the rights of the authors of the music, says conductor Mikael Rönnberg in Bodø. Photo: Philip Hofgaard / news The press contact in Tono also believes that it would have been better for all parties with a joint framework agreement. – Are you sure that the income will trump the expenses for you? – We would prefer to have a framework agreement. This is not a desirable situation, but we see ourselves having to do it. Martinsen hopes the Norwegian Music Council will help them make the transition as smooth as possible, by informing members about the changes that will come from the new year. In addition, they have created an online portal which they believe will make it easier for members.
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Norwegian choirs and bands must negotiate themselves – news Nordland
