Annual and Sustainability Review 2025: Campaigning for the value of music and towards a more responsible future

In 2025, Gramex collected a total of €27.5 million in remunerations for the use of music. The largest sources of remuneration revenue were background music (€11.8 million), radio and TV broadcasts (€7.8 million), and internet and network use (€4.7 million). During the year, a total of €19.9 million in remunerations was distributed to performers and producers in four distribution rounds.

Gramex’s total cost ratio, which describes the efficiency of its operations, was 14.2%, reflecting the stability and cost-effectiveness of its activities. International operations remained active: Gramex had agreements with more than 60 sister organisations, and €1.34 million in remunerations was collected from abroad.

Responsibility in everyday actions

In February 2025, Gramex published its first sustainability programme for 2025–2030, aimed at guiding sustainability efforts over the long term. The reporting applies the voluntary VSME sustainability standard for SMEs developed by the EU and the data points defined in its basic module.

During 2025, sustainability was developed above all through everyday, practical choices.

Among other measures, Gramex introduced new travel guidelines for its staff, completely excluded red meat from catering at stakeholder events, and increased the share of standard-compliant sustainable finance investments in its investment portfolio. The development of data security and data protection was supported through the use of the Cyber Security Meter, and staff were provided with training in information security and data protection.

Gramex also carried out a carbon footprint assessment and refined the emission factors used in the calculation. Sustainability work will continue, among other things, through the setting of climate targets, with particular attention paid to the sustainability of procurement and the selection of responsible suppliers.

Developing technology and data capabilities

Technological development continued in a determined manner in 2025. The use of the Apollo distribution system developed by Gramex in cooperation with BIConcepts expanded further internationally, and the utilisation of the VRDB and RDx data hubs in international distributions became established. The implementation of the ISNI identifier was completed during the year, and remuneration breakdowns were further developed using the new DDEX standard.

During the year, preliminary studies were also carried out for the future renewal of the MyGramex portal. The aim is to further develop the service to be more user-friendly and to provide performers and producers with a clearer overview of their own information, distributions and data related to the use of music.

Discussion on the value of music

The most significant communications initiative of the year was the Music Value campaign jointly carried out by Gramex and JVG, aimed at strengthening the appreciation of music in the age of artificial intelligence.

At the heart of the campaign was a unique stunt in which, for the first time in Finnish history, a new song by an artist was sold as a single vinyl record to a buyer who was also able to articulate the value of music.

The unique initiative attracted nationwide interest among both the media and the general public. The campaign reached its target audience very effectively: as many as 78% of 16–24-year-olds recall seeing some of the campaign’s communications. On social media alone, the campaign reached a total of 2.37 million people.

The proceeds from the campaign were donated in full to RockCamp ry, which provides young people with a safe, bullying-free environment for band activities and pursuing music hobbies across Finland.

For the music

In 2025, Gramex continued its active advocacy work on behalf of the music sector. The focus areas of its public affairs and advocacy efforts included issues related to private copying compensation, safeguarding cultural funding, and ensuring the appropriate consideration of copyright and related rights in the development and use of artificial intelligence.