Nordic collective management organizations Koda (Denmark), Teosto (Finland), and Tono (Norway) are closing their joint venture Polaris Hub after seven years, concluding that it no longer meets the current market’s demands.
The group said in a press release that the hub will be discontinued at the turn of the new year (2026).
The three CMOs established Polaris Hub in 2019 to negotiate licensing agreements with major global platforms.
The joint venture has since entered into deals with platforms like Spotify, YouTube, Meta (Facebook and Instagram), Apple Music, Tidal, SoundCloud, TikTok and more.
The JV also handled data administration, reporting and invoicing for digital music services.
The organizations cited the need for bigger scale and international reach amid today’s “increasingly competitive, complex and scale-driven music ecosystem.”
Koda, Teosto and Tono said: “[C]ooperation on a Nordic scale is no longer sufficient. The Board of Polaris Hub has accordingly decided to initiate a phased wind down of the venture in an orderly manner around the turn of 2025–2026.”
“As market conditions continue to evolve, we are now focused on establishing new solutions that will enable strong agreements for our members.”
Gorm Arildsen, KODA
Gorm Arildsen, CEO of Koda, said: “We value the contributions made by the employees of Polaris Hub in ensuring key agreements for online platforms on behalf of our rightsholders. In light of ongoing market developments, Polaris is no longer the most suitable solution moving forward.
“As market conditions continue to evolve, we are now focused on establishing new solutions that will enable strong agreements for our members – solutions designed to effectively address emerging demands and market developments in the years ahead.”
Karl Vestli, CEO of TONO, added: “We are deeply grateful to Erik Brataas and his team at Polaris hub for securing the best possible terms for rights holders in agreements with the major streaming services and platform companies. Looking ahead, we will seek even stronger alliances, reaching well beyond the Nordics.
“Both we and our members will also depend on more and better data to track music usage across services, with greater precision. We are confident that we will achieve this through new and larger-scale collaborations.”
“We are deeply grateful to Erik Brataas and his team at Polaris hub for securing the best possible terms for rights holders in agreements with the major streaming services and platform companies.”
Karl Vestli, TONO
Risto Salminen, Teosto CEO, said: “Polaris Hub has achieved remarkable results for our rightsholders in licensing multi-territorial music services.
“However, the rapidly evolving market requires us to proactively enhance our capabilities to meet future challenges and ensure the best outcomes for our rightholders.”
“the rapidly evolving market requires us to proactively enhance our capabilities to meet future challenges and ensure the best outcomes for our rightholders.”
RistoSalminen, Teosto
According to a press release, following the discontinuation of Polaris Hub, Koda, Teosto, and Tono will independently explore licensing agreements for their repertoires.
The partnership with Network of Music Partners, which handled technical aspects of royalty collection and reporting, will also conclude alongside Polaris Hub’s closure.
The transition timeline extends into 2026.
According to the organizations, rightsholders should experience no interruption in royalty distributions under their licensing agreements during the changeover until the expiry of their contracts.
Music Business Worldwide