Teosto Distributed €32 Million to Music Authors and Publishers in June
Today, on 15 June, performing rights organisation Teosto distributed €32 million in royalties to composers, lyricists, arrangers and music publishers.
Teosto distributes royalties to its members quarterly In June 2026, the payments primarily covered music performed between October and December 2025 on radio, television, web services and streaming services, as well as background music. In addition, royalties from concerts and live performances in 2025 were distributed.
In June 2026, €3 million more in royalties were distributed than a year earlier.
In total, more than 12,000 authors and publishers will receive payments in June. The median payment per individual author in this distribution was approximately €128.
“A prerequisite for professional music creation is that creators receive appropriate compensation for their work. Copyright royalties are the cornerstone of music culture,” says Teosto’s CEO Risto Salminen.
Salminen notes that the record distribution includes two significant one-off items, meaning that the growth compared to last year is not entirely organic.
“Teosto ensures efficient collection and distribution of royalties, and once again our team has done excellent work. At the same time, it is important to recognise that part of this growth came to us as a given,” Salminen says.
Despite the large distribution, Teosto remains concerned about the development and future of the music sector
Although the June 2026 distribution is the largest in Teosto’s history, the situation in the music sector is not entirely positive.
“The prolonged difficult economic situation is also visible in the music sector. People cannot afford to attend music events as they did in previous years, and many venues have unfortunately had to close. Public funding has been cut, placing disproportionate pressure on private and third-sector support to keep music culture vibrant,” Salminen states.
At their biannual meeting on 20 May 2026, Teosto’s members decided to allocate an additional €10 million from the Teosto Fund to the Teosto Cultural Foundation to support Finnish music creation. The latest donation brings the total to €40 million to be transferred to the foundation for future grants.
Another significant uncertainty in the music sector has been the development of artificial intelligence and bringing AI operators into a licensing framework compliant with copyright law.
“Teosto actively engages in discussions with the AI sector both directly and through our licensing partners. Our task is to build sustainable markets and ensure that composers, lyricists and publishers receive fair compensation for the use of their works both in AI training and in commercial use,” says Teosto’s Head of Licensing Markus Kaarto.
Two technical changes resulted in a one-off increase of several million euros
The record distribution stems from two underlying changes: one contractual and one technological.
At the turn of 2026, Teosto changed its partner responsible for licensing the use of music in online services. In June, all undistributed royalties collected by the previous licensing partner NMP Online were paid out, resulting in a one-off €3 million increase.
The second significant one-off item originates from an upgrade to Teosto’s distribution system.
“When making such significant changes to a core process, it is important to manage risks with slightly larger safety margins. We have made provisions in advance to ensure that all rights holders receive the compensation they are entitled to. Now that everything went according to plan, these provisions can be released into distribution,” Salminen explains.
June 2026 marks the first time distributions are processed using the new system developed since 2023.
“The new system keeps us at the forefront internationally in terms of speed, accuracy and level of automation. I am proud of how our staff has successfully delivered major infrastructure projects without compromising core operations,” Salminen says.
The royalties to be distributed in June 2026 have been collected for the following categories of rights:
| CATEGORY OF RIGHTS | DISTRIBUTION 06/26 | VS. 06/25 |
| Radio and TV | 11.9 | +0.3 |
| Public performance | 12.6 | -0.3 |
| Online services | 5.0 | +3.3 |
| Reproduction | 0.9 | -0.1 |
| Multiple (abroad, corrections) | 1.6 | -0.2 |
| TOTAL | 32.0 | +3.0 |
You can find more detailed information about the distribution categories included in this distribution and the times when the royalties were collected in the distribution calendar on our website.
Distributions are made four times a year
Teosto distributes royalties to its member composers, lyricists, arrangers and publishers four times a year. After June 2026, the next distribution will be paid on 21 September 2026.
You can find out more about Teosto’s distributions on the Distributions page of Teosto’s website.
The total amount distributed by Teosto varies depending on how comprehensively royalties can be collected in each music use category and how quickly the royalties can be allocated to the work to which they belong.
The allocating of royalties requires work notifications submitted by music creators to Teosto for their own works, as well as performance notifications or music use reports submitted by music performers and users.