License for Tv broadcasting
Television companies broadcast content not only via free-to-air channels, but also via pay-TV channels and over Internet. The companies pay performing right royalties for any copyrighted music included in the content they broadcast. Teosto and television companies negotiate the terms and pricing of music use yearly.
The performing rights royalty for services providing free-to-end user audiovisual content is determined as a percentage of AV service provider’s revenue subject to royalty. The royalty percentage of an AV service is determined on the basis of the share of music within its contents.
The performing rights royalty for services providing paid audiovisual content is determined as a percentage of AV service provider’s revenue subject to royalty. The royalty percentage of an AV service is determined on the basis of the profile of the content it provides. If the service has advertising revenues as well, the royalty for the advertising revenue shall be paid according to the price list for free-to-end user AV services based on the share of music in the content.
Rightholders granting the use rights for audio-visual productions
Audio-visual use rights are divided into performing, mechanical reproduction and synchronisation rights. Self-administration of synchronisation and reproduction rights for production music and many audio-visual productions has already been available prior to the amendments made to the Teosto membership agreement in 2019. Therefore, NCB has not been collecting or distributing any reproduction or synchronisation royalties for such productions without the rightholders’ express request. The self-administration model for synchronisation and reproduction rights for both production music and NCB remains in place.
With the agreement renewed 18th March 2019, performing rights are added to the self-administration options available for these productions.
Productions whose synchronisation and reproduction rights are available for self-administration and whose performing rights may be granted by rightholders:
- Feature-length films
- Commercials
- Commercial short films or documentaries
Teosto rightholders may personally grant use rights for their music in an individual audio-visual production. In the notification given to Teosto, the rightholder shall state the period of time for which use rights for their work’s performance are granted and whether the use rights cover music made available on television, in a streaming service or both. Use rights may be granted for a maximum period of two years. After two years, the work in question is automatically transferred back under Teosto’s administration unless the rightholder renews their notification.
Use rights may only be granted if all the composers, lyricists and publishers of the work in question agree to it. Written confirmation of all rightholders’ consent is required. Even if no notification of a work has been given, this does not automatically mean that the work is outside of Teosto’s mandate.
Use rights granted by rightholders are valid only in the audio-visual production they are granted for, for a pre-determined period of time and for distribution via the stated channels (television/streaming service). For all other intents and purposes, the work or works shall remain under Teosto’s administration.
Teosto shall not license, monitor or distribute any audio-visual performing right royalties for the time period for which a rightholder has granted use rights for their music or for any other rights subject to self-administration.