3 February 2014

Ground breaking initiative: Cross-border alliance lead the way for future rights management

Press Release – Release date 3.2.2014

A new cross-border alliance has seen the light of day in the Nordics. The three Nordic collective rights management organisations Koda, Teosto and Tono have formed the company Polaris Nordic, a ground-breaking initiative that aims to create higher value for music creators, and lead the way for the future of music rights management.

At Midem 2014, the CEOs of the three organisations signed an agreement, which sets a new standard of cross-border cooperation in the world of music rights managements. Through the company “Polaris Nordic”, Koda, Teosto and TONO have agreed to develop, and run, joint back-end systems for music reporting and distribution of the revenues collected by the organisations. The aim is to further reduce costs and create higher efficiency, resulting in greater value for composers, song-writers, lyricists and music publishers.

The future of rights management
“It’s the first time that collective rights management organisations are having such close and formal cross-border cooperation. We believe that the Nordic model of joining forces will be for the benefit of our members and rightsholders”, says Teosto CEO Katri Sipilä.

“Koda, TONO and Teosto are among the world’s most efficient and lean collective rights management organisations, and with Polaris Nordic we are leading the way to the future of rights management. By partnership we reduce cost, increase efficiency and increase revenue to best serve efficient copyright management”, says Koda CEO Anders Lassen.

The first two systems, Polaris REP and Polaris DIS, are used by all three organizations and the first distributions to rightsholders have already been made. Before Polaris Nordic will be fully operational, a thorough investigation on competition issues will be conducted.

“Joining forces with other collective rights management organisations with whom we share common goals, processes and values is a natural thing to do. Aside from developing a common backend processing, Polaris Nordic also gives us the possibility to negotiate deals for all three societies, regarding for example IT investments etc. This obviously provides added value for the rightsholders that we represent”, says TONO CEO Cato Strøm.

Polaris Nordic at Midem
Meet the three most integrated collective rights management organisations in the world and learn how they will take their collaboration to next level.
Where: The Nordic Area at Midem 2014 (stand L1.02). When: Monday 3rd of February, 4:15 – 5:30 pm

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
Tomi Korhonen, Head of Communications – Teosto
+358 50 4499575
tomi.korhonen@teosto.fi

Nicolaj Hyltén-Cavallius, Head of Communications – Koda
+45 222 77 921
nhc@koda.dk

Willy Martinsen, Head of Communications – TONO
+47 909 65 254
willy.martinsen@tono.no

Polaris Nordic
Polaris Nordic is leading the way to the future of rights management.
By partnership we reduce cost, increase efficiency and increase revenue to best serve efficient copyright management.
Polaris Nordic members Koda, TONO and Teosto are among the world’s most efficient collective rights management organisations.
In collections Polaris Nordic is among the TOP 5 in Europe.

Policies

Artificial intelligence

Artificial intelligence brings about many new opportunities for our lives, including in the field of culture and creativity, but its applications also raise a number of ethical and legal questions due to their wide-spread uncontrolled and unchecked usage.

Policies

Music Streaming

Music streaming has unquestionably become the predominant means of enjoying music, replacing traditional physical media and expanded far beyond the live sector by providing user-friendly, high quality, and affordable access to the largest possible repertoire anytime, anywhere, online, or offline.

Songs and compositions are at the heart of this thriving market, which counts 524 million users on subscription-based music services globally, reaches more than 2 billion users including the streaming on UGC platforms, and offers more than 70 million tracks from approximately 8 million artists.

Yet, the authors and composers cannot benefit adequately from this success, and the debate over unfairness of this market is gaining traction across Europe and around the world.

There is a need to look more closely at how songwriters and composers are connected to this thriving economy and what can be done to improve their currently neglected situation.

Read below to find out more about the Music Streaming market.

Policies

Buy-out contracts: a dangerous threat to European creators

European music creators (composers, lyricists etc.) are being forced to forsake thousands of euros in future earnings by draconian ‘work made for hire’ (WMH) and buy-out contracts.

Online audiovisual services and broadcasters that are mainly US-based are forcing music creators to accept such contracts, which enforce a one-time payment in exchange for their rights.

Given the worldwide popularity of shows and series on platforms like Netflix, Amazon, Disney etc., and their replay value, the audiovisual market represents an important revenue stream for creators. Soundtracks alone are part and parcel of series and often attract a similar amount of popularity, massively boosting sales, streams and the worldwide fanbase of their authors.

Read below to find out how video on demand (VOD) platforms and broadcasters are circumventing EU law and what can be done about it.

Policies

Authors’ societies & the collective management model

Authors’ societies are hugely beneficial to both authors (creators), users (platforms and services), and the broader public.

Beyond benefiting these different groups, authors’ societies also support the broader cultural ecosystem by funding and promoting cultural and creative initiatives.

Below are five key benefits to authors’ societies and the collective management model.

Policies

The Copyright Directive

In April 2019, the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market was formally adopted, a change that will positively transform authors’ rights throughout the EU. Each member state now has until 7 June 2021 to transpose the Directive into their respective national law.

This reform is an opportunity to address pressing issues for authors in the Digital Single Market and will promote the growth of Europe’s creative and cultural industries (CCIs) – a major driver of Europe’s economy.

One of the biggest achievements of this new piece of legislation was to address the
‘Transfer of Value’ problem, a priority issue for all European creators.

Below are some of the Directive’s key areas that will affect creators and those who profit from their work.