Skip to content

Music Authors Can Now Credit Teosto Royalties To Their Company

28.09.2018

As from the beginning of October 2018, music authors can credit Teosto copyright royalties to their company so that Teosto royalties are taxed as the company’s business income. Thanks to the reform, music authors can work as entrepreneurs in the same way as operators in other fields.    

The aim is to make the taxation of music authors equal with that of other entrepreneurs. Fixing the situation has been one of the goals of the current Board of Directors, and it is also part of the Board’s agenda.

“The reform is an important improvement for professional music authors, for whom Teosto copyright royalties are a significant part of their gross income. Until now, copyright royalties have been taxed mainly with a personal tax card. This has made long-term planning difficult, because the amount of royalties music authors are paid can vary considerably from year to year. The reform makes it easier for music authors to work as entrepreneurs, and enables long-term investment in order to expand and develop their professional activities”, explains Risto Salminen, Teosto’s CEO.

NEW TAX GUIDANCE PRESENTED TO MINISTER ORPO

A key aspect of the reform is a Tax Administration guide tailored for music authors, prepared collaboratively by Teosto, the Ministry of Finance and the Tax Administration. Teosto and Tax Administration representatives presented the guide to Finance Minister Petteri Orpo on Friday 28 September. The Minister sees the reform as an important way to promote entrepreneurship in the creative industries and to support the growth of the field.

“This reform supports entrepreneurship in the music industry and the growth of the creative industries. Music authors must have the same opportunity to do business through a company as entrepreneurs in other fields do”, says Minister Orpo.

REFORM EFFECTIVE AS FROM THE BEGINNING OF OCTOBER

Music authors can adopt the new operating model on 1 October, and the first Teosto royalties can be credited to a company in the December 2018 distribution.

IN A NUTSHELL – PAYING TEOSTO ROYALTIES TO A COMPANY

  • The company model suits professional music authors for whom music is an important source of income.
  • When you have a limited company, Teosto can pay personal copyright royalties to the company without tax withholding. Your company pays business income tax on the profit.
  • The model is temporary, and requires that you temporarily transfer your copyright to the company.
  • The model only concerns Teosto copyright royalties. Gramex, Kopiosto and foreign organisations, for example, will still distribute royalties to you if you are a direct customer.  
Share on social media
Change cookie settings

A cookie is a small text file that is stored on your computer or other device and records information about your visit to the Website. Teosto uses cookies to improve the usability of its services.

Information collected by cookies is not usually connected with the personal data of an identified person, but some information collected by cookies may be indirectly connected with the personal data of an identified person.

Learn more by reading our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy

Cookie categories
Strictly necessary cookies

These cookies are strictly necessary to ensure the availability of our website. They do things such as load some of our website’s functions in advance to make the website load faster. Strictly necessary cookies are also used to determine and remember your settings. You can disable strictly necessary cookies in your browser settings, but please note that all of the website’s functions and parts may not work properly after that.
More information about cookies

Analytics cookies

We use analytics cookies to improve the functioning of our website. Analytics cookies collect information about things such as how visitors use our website and how they navigate from one page to another. The information is used in anonymous form.
More information: Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy

Functionality cookies

Functionality cookies allow us to offer various functions, such as playlists and a live chat service, on our website. If you disable functionality cookies, some or all of these functions may not work properly. More information about cookies

Marketing cookies

Marketing cookies help us tailor marketing and offer the users of our website more personalised services in the future. We use marketing cookies to collect information about the user’s behaviour and preferences on our website.
More information about cookies