Levies to the Fund
Changes in legislation entail that users must pay remuneration to Gramo (joint collecting society in Norway for musicians, performing artists and phonogram producers) for the use of copyright-protected recordings, and a levy to the Fund for the use of non-protected recordings. This applies both to broadcasting and to other public use. The levy and remuneration must be of a similar amount so that there is nothing to be gained from using one rather than the other. Norwegian artists will thus receive remuneration via Gramo every time their recordings are played on the radio, at a discotheque etc. At the same time these performers – as well as all other professional performing artists who earn their living as musicians, singers, actors, dancers etc. – can apply to the Fund for funding for projects, grants, trips etc.
Cultural Fund
Norway therefore has a two-part system for performing artists – a remuneration scheme and a cultural policy scheme. The Fund has responsibility for the latter, and in the future the Fund’s revenues will be derived solely from the use of non-protected recordings. These are recordings that are not protected by the Copyright Act and are recordings to which Norwegian performing artists have no rights. The Stortinget (the Norwegian Parliament) has resolved that the Fund for Performing Artists is purely a cultural fund and that the Fund’s revenues must be used to support professional performers who live and work in Norway, and for Norwegian recordings. In its role as a cultural fund, the Fund must ensure that there is a wide diversity of cultural expression. The Fund also has a commitment within the present financial framework towards the population as a whole to ensure that people throughout Norway can enjoy live performances within all genres and with all categories of performing artists.
(Siden er oversatt av statsautorisert translatør Jennifer Follestad)
