STEF (Iceland)

STEF (Samband Tonskalda og Eigenda Flutningsrettar) is the Composers' Rights Society of Iceland, a non-profit collective management organization founded on January 31, 1948, by composer Jon Leifs. It administers Icelandic and international music copyrights for songwriters, composers, lyricists, and publishers whose works are performed publicly in Iceland. STEF represents approximately 6,700 registered creators (about 2,500 active) and operates from its offices at Laufasvegur 40 in Reykjavik, where it has been based since 1968.

How STEF Works

STEF licenses the public performance, broadcasting, streaming, and digital use of musical works in Iceland. It collects royalties from radio stations, television networks, streaming platforms, concert venues, restaurants, retail stores, cinemas, and any business that plays music publicly. Collected fees are distributed to rights holders based on usage data from broadcast logs, streaming reports, concert set lists, and venue reporting.

STEF operates under a system of extensive collective licensing authorized by Icelandic copyright law. This means STEF is authorized to collect royalties for the performance of all music protected by copyright, regardless of whether the creator is a STEF member. STEF is obligated to allocate collected royalties to all rights holders it can identify, even non-members. This ensures that foreign rights holders whose works are performed in Iceland also receive payment.

Membership is free and open to all authors and publishers. STEF is entirely owned and governed by its members as a non-governmental organization. The highest governance body is the Representative Council, consisting of 21 members. Seven are elected in a general election, while the remaining 14 are nominated by STEF's two affiliated organizations: the Icelandic Society of Authors and Composers (FTT) and the Society of Icelandic Composers (TI). The Representative Council elects three members of the Board of Directors, with the other four nominated by the affiliated societies.

STEF employs 11 people, of whom three are part-time. The organization has been a CISAC member since January 1, 1950, and is also a member of the Nordic Copyright Bureau (NCB), which has collection agreements with societies across Europe, North and South America, and parts of Asia.

In 2025, STEF, alongside Teosto (Finland) and TONO (Norway), joined ICE Core, expanding the copyright services platform operated by ICE Services. This move improves STEF's ability to manage multi-territory online licensing and royalty processing for its members' catalogs.

STEF's annual revenue is approximately $10.6 million (2025). The organization operates three internal societies: ISAC (pop, jazz, and related genres), the Icelandic Composers Society (classical), and a non-attached group that is the largest within STEF.

Real-World Example

An Icelandic songwriter joins STEF for free and registers 12 songs. RUV (Iceland's national broadcaster) plays 6 of those songs on radio in a given quarter, Spotify reports 80,000 streams of 8 songs, and a Reykjavik concert venue holds a STEF license for a live performance. STEF collects royalties from all three sources.

The songwriter receives a distribution based on the radio logs, streaming data, and the venue's license fee. If the same songs are played on radio in Sweden, STEF's reciprocal agreement with STIM means STIM collects those royalties and remits them to STEF, which distributes them to the songwriter.

Because STEF operates extensive collective licensing, even non-member Icelandic composers whose works are performed publicly will have royalties collected on their behalf. If STEF can identify the rights holder, the royalties are held and distributed. This is broader than the system in many countries where PROs only collect for registered members.

Why It Matters for Independent Artists

If you are an Icelandic songwriter, composer, or lyricist, STEF membership is free and provides the only practical way to collect performance royalties when your music is played publicly in Iceland. The lack of a membership fee removes any financial barrier to joining.

Register every composition with STEF before commercial release. Even though STEF's extensive collective licensing system collects royalties for non-members too, you must be a registered member to receive payouts. Unregistered works may have royalties collected but not distributed to you.

STEF's small size (11 employees, 6,700 registered creators) means you are likely to receive more personalized service than at larger European PROs. The trade-off is a smaller total royalty pool, since Iceland's population and market size are much smaller than those of Sweden, Germany, or the UK.

STEF's membership in NCB and its reciprocal agreements with over 100 sister societies worldwide mean your royalties flow back to you when your music is played internationally. The 2025 move to ICE Core alongside Teosto and TONO improves STEF's online royalty processing capabilities, which is particularly relevant for Icelandic artists whose music streams on global platforms like Spotify and Apple Music.

Related Resources

• Performing Rights Organizations (PRO) - What a PRO is and how it functions
• Performance Royalties - How performance royalties are generated and collected
• Mechanical Royalties - How mechanical royalties differ from performance royalties
• Blanket License - The licensing model used by STEF
• Collective Management Organization (CMO) - How CMOs operate globally
• STEF Official Website - Visit STEF for membership and licensing information
• Use our Streaming Royalty Calculator to estimate your digital earnings