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NORDIC MUSIC EXPORT OFFICE SHAKE UP

2/28/2012

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Nordic Music Export (NOMEX) has been granted two million Danish Kronas from the Nordic Council of Ministers. This is following the presentation of the NOMEX strategy, Strength in Unity.

Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdottir, former MD of Iceland Music Export, has been hired to be the programme director of NOMEX and starts her job full time on February 1st.

Anna will be working alongside the Icelandic, Swedish, Finnish, Norwegian and Danish export offices and focusing on strengthening connections across the Nordic market, while establishing a Nordic brand for music.

Anna will also be developing collaborative relationships with companies in the travel industry to benefit artists, promoters and music fans alike, as well as working on Nordic music in the Nordic media, building awareness of original contemporary music from all five countries.

Gunnar Madsen, head of Rosa The Danish Rock Council, is the chairman of the NOMEX board: "It's exciting to have funding to strengthen the Nordic collaboration. We have been working together informally for years so this is a very pleasing development, which compliments the work that we are doing at the export offices in all of the countries.”

“We welcome Anna in her new role. She has a great deal of experience, both from working as a music manager in the past and PR person and consultant for brands like Iceland Airwaves and countless projects, as well as her latest job as MD at Iceland Music Export. Her knowledge and insight into the Nordic music scene will be helpful in establishing this new programme, which brings Nordic music the kind of platform that Films and Games have had for years.”

Anna Hildur will be based in London where she has lived for over 20 years but will spend a lot of her time in the different Nordic Capitals over the next few months.


(source text: HERE)

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Meanwhile, Music Finland’s Board of Directors has appointed Tuomo Tähtinen as the first Executive Director of Music Finland. Tähtinen will commence his new post on February 1st, 2012.

Tähtinen, 29, has been with Music Export Finland since December 2008, first overseeing marketing and communications, and managing operations in the UK and the USA, and later as the Acting Executive Director. Tähtinen joined Music Export Finland from Warner Music Finland.

“With this merger we’re creating an organization with exceptional and substantial skills and knowledge of Finnish music and the international music industry. It’s excellent that this top-tier team gets Tuomo as their leader. His energy, international expertise and co-operation skills will be instrumental in building the organization”,  comments Music Finland’s Chairman of the Board, 
Pekka Sipilä.

“A whole new chapter is beginning as Music Finland starts getting into shape. The new organization is a wonderful combination of talent with international know-how and extensive knowledge of music and the music industry. We are now able to reach a wider clientele and offer a broader range of services to our clients and partners all around the globe. I’m extremely delighted and proud to be part of building Music Finland”, adds Tähtinen.

The operations of Music Export Finland and the Finnish Music Information Centre Fimic will be integrated into Music Finland during 2012. The founding members of Music Finland are the Copyright Society of Performing Artists and Phonogram Producers in Finland (Gramex),  IFPI Finland, Finnish Music Publishers’ Association, Finnish Musicians' Union, Finnish Independent Labels Association (IndieCo), Finnish Society of Popular Music Composers and Authors (Elvis), Finnish Composers’ Copyright Society (Teosto), and the Society of Finnish Composers.



(source text: HERE)

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TALLINN MUSIC WEEK ANNOUNCES FULL PROGRAMME

2/28/2012

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On March 29-31, 183 bands and artists from 13 countries will take over Tallinn for three days and nights to perform at Tallinn Music Week - the biggest talent festival in the Baltics. The grandest Tallinn Music Week so far will bring together the exciting and promising acts from Estonia and neighbouring countries to step up on 27 stages across central Tallinn. In addition to the established festival venues, TMW will surprise you with unexpected experimental environments – the “city stages”, where music lovers can enjoy special improvisational performances free of charge.

Within the city stage programme music lovers will have exclusive access to performances at the international headquarters of Skype, the suite of Nordic Hotel Forum, and the library corner of an Estonian LHV bank. Concerts will also take place at a wide range of spaces that include the tastemakers’ favourite record store Biit, the cosy café Must Puudel, the Gallery of Design and Architecture, and the children’s museum Miia-Milla-Manda. The Apollo bookstore, located at Solaris Centre, and the atrium space of Viru Keskus department store, will host an Estonian Music and Design Café equipped with headphones and furniture designed in Estonia to let everyone comfortably enjoy some cherry-picked homegrown tracks.

Daytime city stage shows will be free of charge. Festival passes allow access to all festival venues, and will be on sale starting from today.

The opening night of the festival on March 29th, held in the Rock Cafe, will host the debut album presentation of quirky singer-songwriter 
Iiris, with special guests Rubik, an acclaimed indie band from Finland.

There are 33 international performers from 13 countries playing this year’s festival programme. From Finland come 
Husky Rescue, Jaakko&Jay, The New Tigers, and Zebra and Snake, Lithuanian singer-songwriter Alina Orlova, Latvian art-pop sensation Instrumenti, Motorama from the Russian underground, Polish rock bandFonovel, the British sound wizard Napoleon IIIrd, Austrian indie-folkers Diver, Doug Tielly from Canada and a well known Latvian countertenor Sergejs Jēgers are just a few to mention.

Among the 150 Estonian artists on the lineup you’ll find our latest Pop Idol 
Liis Lemsalu, the talented singer-songwriter Vaiko Eplik, masters of deep house Rulers of the Deep, rock band Bedwetters, a folk-singer-songwriter Mari Kalkun and the beloved folk group Paabel. All this and more - doom duo Talbot have graced many European stages, and the talented young electronica wizard Sander Mölder will make an appearance. From a rich selection of Estonian composers, Mirjam Tallyand Tatjana Kozlova’s work will feature. Two highlights among many from the classical music programme, housed at the Estonia Concert Hall, will be mezzo-soprano Helen Lokuta and pianist and composer Rein Rannap.

As always, the festival programme features a full array of music styles and genres, put together by a team of key Estonian festivals and music promoters. We're proud to have curators from Estonia’s biggest outdoor festival Rabarock, the respected jazz festival Jazzkaar (who proudly celebrate their 23th birthday this year) and Viljandi Folk who are largely responsible for cultivating such a vibrant and varied folk and world music scene in Estonia. The contemporary classical music night is presented by the Estonian Composers’ Union and Estonian Music Days festival. The newest edition to the programme, the classical music showcase, is the fruit of a collaboration between the Estonian Music Development Centre, the Association of Estonian Professional Musicians and the Pille Lill Music Fund. The significant local indie-zine Rada7.ee will present a Friday night party at a legendary old cinema, formerly called Helios and now known as a cool indie-kids party spot Hoov (the courtyard).

There are also some exciting collaborations with international festivals and events this year. Positivus, the biggest festival in the Baltics, will present their own showcase at cinema “Sõprus”. UK indie label Brainlove Records teams up with international management & music consultancy Projekta and respected local indie-event promoter Odessa Pop to host a Friday night programme of emerging UK and Estonian talent, with Projekta and TMW having also founded an ongoing artist exchange programme that presents Estonian bands in London. And finally, legendary Finnish indie label Stupido co-hosts a must-see night with the World Clinic Estonian record store.

The TMW festival pass will give you access to all key venues of Tallinn – for three nights in a row, ticket holders will overrun the town’s best live venues and clubs, cool basement bars in 15th century houses, renovated Soviet-time cinemas, opulent theatres and cosy cafés and, for the first time, the grand Kultuurikatel (trans: “culture power plant”). This imposing old factory building will soon to become a vibrant creative centre of Tallinn, brimming with up and coming talent to watch.

As a new initiative, Tallinn Music Week has also teamed up with an internationally recognised start-up event Garage48. A special event Garage48 Tallinn Music will occur a week before the festival, with the aim of generating innovative music products and sound-related smartphone or web solutions.

“We want to take a step forward towards our local music fans and potential audiences by bringing music even closer to them," comments Tallinn Music Week organiser
 Helen Sildna. "Recent Estonian success stories like Ewert and the Two Dragons have proven both the need and the desire for good new music. It is indeed our job as a music industry to make Estonian music available to people in new and innovative ways. This is the idea behind both of the new additions to the festival this year – our city stage programme, and also Garage48 Tallinn Music – we want good music to reach people better.”

Tallinn Music Week 2012, the fourth edition of the ever-growing festival, will take place on March 29-31. As always, the aim of the music industry conference and new talent showcase festival is to present the most exciting and current Estonian and regional  music, to introduce our strongest artists to international music press and industry, and to help local music entrepreneurs expand their activities to foreign markets. The TMW conference will take place on 30th and 31st of March 2012 in Nordic Hotel Forum conference centre, in co-operation with Estonian Music Development Centre.

Tallinn Music Week is thankful to the supporters and partners:
Nordic Hotel Forum, Skype, LHV Bank, Tuborg Music, Kultuurikatel, Estonian Air, Tallink, Hansabuss, Viru Keskus, Anne & Stiil, Postimees, ERR, Garage48, Velvet, Aku Collective, Eventech, RGB, Tolm Stuudio, Estonian Music Development Centre, EAS, the Ministry of Culture, Tallinn Culture and Heritage Department, Cultural Endowment, Tallinn City Enterprise Department, and The British Council.

More info:
www.tallinnmusicweek.ee
www.facebook.com/tallinnmusicweek
info@tallinnmusicweek.ee

Tallinn Music Week 2012:
27 stages
183 artists from 13 countries
33 foreign artists
52 artists perform at city stages


source text: HERE

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COMPANY FOCUS: PROJEKTA

2/28/2012

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Name of company: Projekta

Type of Business: Management & Export Consultancy

City/Country: London, UK & Reykjavík, Iceland

Year Founded: 2010

Employees and their roles: John Rogers & Hildur Maral Hamiðsdottír, co-founders and artist managers.

Roster/Clients: We manage: Apparat Organ Quartet, Dad Rocks!, FILM, Napoleon IIIrd, Tall Stories and Rökkurró, and we have done press and consultancy work for Popkomm, Reykjavík Music Mess, SPOT Festival, Kimi Records and Tallinn Music Week.

Company Highlights so far: We piloted a music exchange with Tallinn Music Week in which Estonian alternative artists were invited to perform at Brainlove Festival in London and UK artists were taken out to Tallinn; we coordinated European touring logistics and oversaw the successful European release of Apparat Organ Quartet’s second LP Pólýfónía and its sister album, Pólýfónía Remixes; we achieved national UK radio play for Tall Stories on BBC Radio 1 and Xfm, as well in on independent online stations like Amazing Radio, DIY Radio and Gimme Indie in Sweden, all on the strength of their first demo.

Goals for next 12 months: To keep Dad Rocks! touring internationally, bridging from DIY booking to support from the right agencies; to position Napoleon IIIrd’s in-progress third album for international release; to secure key early press, radio support, club dates and festival performances for Tall Stories; to continue developing our roster and the network of great people we work with.

Biggest Challenge ahead: In a crowded and saturated landscape it is a challenge to make your voice heard, but with the quality of the acts we work and the network we’re developing, we’re sure we’re up to it.

Key Projects: We’ve taken on two new bands in the last few months – UK indie-rock trio Tall Stories and Danish-Icelandic singer Dad Rocks!. We’ll be developing all aspects of their respective careers, and putting in place the right team around them to get them on a positive trajectory.

What are the main things are you looking for at the moment: we’re constantly expanding our network of booking agents, promoters, labels, music supervisors, publicists, publishers, festivals... we’re very proud of our acts, and we like to work with people who appreciate the vision and artistry of the musicians on our roster. 


Other useful information:  Projekta will be showcasing three artists from the roster at Tallinn Music Week 2012.

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BY:LARM 2012 REPORT

2/25/2012

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The Norwegian convention and showcase festival celebrated its fifteenth edition this year with a record number of 1,800 visitors. The music industry’s travelling circus again made its way to Oslo – admittedly in much friendlier weather conditions than the usual - 15 °C. Familiar faces engaging in countless “speed meetings” while hyping up the acts they represent. Sit back and enjoy, it’s By:Larm…

The biggest Scandinavian music convention welcomed more than 450 international delegates, doubling its figure from last year. Returning visitor, Hannes Tschürtz, CEO of Austrian booking agency Ink Music co-organised a joint showcase with Norwegian label Spoon Train featuring acts like Einar Stray and The Little Hands of Asphalt. When asked why he returns to By:Larm every year, he observed: “There are many reasons to come here. We work with lots of Scandinavian artists. We discovered Einar Stray, whom we represent in Germany and Austria, here last year. By:Larm is great because everyone is in one place and you constantly bump into people you know and others you don’t know yet, so it’s pretty cool, you get to know new people and talk to the ones you already work with.”

One of By:Larm’s highlights is the newly established Nordic Music Prize. The sophomore edition of the award ceremony was scaled-down due to the absence of the Norwegian Crown Prince Haakon Magnus who handed over the prize last year. The prize surprisingly went to Swedish/Croatian jazz musician Goran Kajfes for his album XY!, beating the likes of Björk, Lykke Li and Ane Brun. Most delegates I spoke with had never heard of Kajfes before. The jury, comprised of music industry pundits – including the manager of Pulp and the owner of Domino Records – stated: “a very distinctive voice unexpectedly united the jury, everybody instantly recognised the love that has gone into the playing and, also, the packaging.  It’s an ambitious and warm fusion of sonic elements, from jazz with both African and eastern influences to electronica. This double album really does something that is quite rare: it communicates the pure joy of music.”

During another award ceremony local artist Bernhoft was given a 130,000 € grant by the Norwegian oil company Statoil. However, the talk of the conference was the departure of Synne Overland Knudsen from the highly promising pop sensation Team Me who objected to her band’s nomination for the same prize on political grounds. In her statement Knudsen summarised: “At this year's nomination me and my band, Team Me, disagreed about the political aspects of the scholarship that finally made me pull out. During By:Larm festival I will no longer be in Team Me.”  


Some of this year’s seminar highlights were: “Meet the Music Supervisors, and get your music heard!”,“Streaming session 1: Sweet streams are made of these: the business of streaming music” and “The rise of the concert industry; a story about ticketing.” By:Larm press officer Malin Kulseth explains: “In 2011 we focused a lot on synch and publishing and continued that this year but we also added a focus on streaming and the live business. We try to focus on what is most relevant for industry people.”

Furthermore, interesting points were made byBritish writer Simon Reynolds who spoke about his book “Retromania: Pop Culture’s Addiction To Its Own Past, Rip It Up and Start Again” and US copyright specialist Robert Levine who presented his recent publication: “Free Ride: How the Internet is Destroying the Culture Business and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back.”

Among the new elements introduced this year at By:Larm was an increasing presence of acts hailing from other Nordic countries, while the number of Norwegian acts decreased from 153 in 2011 to 60 in 2012. Malin Kulseth explained: “We started working on making By:Larm a Nordic showcase three years ago and ever since we’ve been booking more and more Nordic acts. We had a goal to make it 50/50 Norwegian/Nordic. We almost got there, now we stand at 60/40 Norwegian/Nordic due to budget limitations. But the thought is to both make Nordic acts see what they can achieve by playing here as well as getting more Nordic music industry professionals to come over.”One of these professionals is Kamilla Ingibergsdóttir from Iceland who is responsible for marketing and press at Iceland Airwaves Festival. Ingibergsdóttir observed:“By:Larm is one of the premier Nordic showcases. It’s good to come out here and check out fresh talent. By:Larm has got a healthy mix of everything and they organise one of the best speed meetings in Scandinavia. So it’s definitely a good place to meet other businesses. We have already seen acts here that we will book at Iceland Airwaves…”  


But the road to a successful festival hasn't been without its complications. In early autumn 2011 it was announced that the City of Oslo would completely pull the plug on their funding due to “missed deadline and application requirements” on the side of the festival. The organisers, outraged at the unfounded allegations, considered moving the event to a different location - with Bergen and Stockholm among the mooted places. In the end the statement was rectified. Malin Kulseth, by:Larm press representative, commented: “There wasn’t really an official explanation. But they apologised and have corrected a lot of the false accusations. Everything they said about the accounting was wrong. For a while we thought of going to Stockholm because we were so pissed off! But we didn’t seriously consider it, because we want to stay in Oslo. We proved that this was wrong and in the end we got 1 Million NOK (133,000 €) from the City of Oslo. This saved us basically! The situation now looks really good. We sold all the tickets that we expected to sell.”

When asked what the future holds for by:Larm Kulseth concedes: “All the Nordic countries are kind of small, but together they have something. Clearly we have a lot in common, both musically and artistically. It’s a great way for international music people to come and see what’s going on in the Nordic countries in one place. Our strategy is to become even more Nordic and it’s exciting to see how well that goes. There are no specific plans for the future yet. But for us the biggest challenge is the Oslo funding.” 

Artist highlights:
•Scarlet Chives (DK): Brilliant Cocteau Twins-, Kate Bush-influenced indie pop.
•Maribel (NO): The Oslo ensemble showcase a well-crafted shoegaze/noisepop blend.
•Masquer (SE): Much-promising melodic post-punk duo with female vocals. 
•GusGus (IS): Techno euphoria from Iceland. 
•Siinai (FIN): Epic noise and endless feedback from prime Finnish kraut-rockers. 
•Reptile Youth (DK): Reptile Youth have in their ranks the most energetic frontman in Scandinavia. 
•The Megaphonic Thrift (NO): With a flawless and very ambitious second album in their arsenal Norwegian noise-masters The Megaphonic Thrift are here to stay. 

Words and photos by Vasilis Panagiotopoulos

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EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH: SARAH SCHWAAB (SSC GROUP)

2/20/2012

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name: Sarah Schwaab
company: SSC Group
job: Marketing & Communications Coordinator, SSC Group. 
city: Berlin. 
working on: The NMO (!); a new SSC website; LOTS of tour promotion 
favourite artist(s): Air, The Beatles, Eddie Vedder, Eric Clapton, Syd Matters, The Whitest Boy Alive, Nicolas Jaar and many, many more. 
first gig: La Ruda Salska @ L'Olympic Nantes. 
highlight(s) of the last year: the first edition of the New Fall Festival in Düsseldorf; Escort @ Concerthall, Williamsburg; Caravan Palace @ La Cigale, Nicolas Jaar @ Berghain, Lisa Hannigan@ Schokoladen 
musical hero: Serge Gainsbourg
listening to: Radio Nova, Benny Sings, Little Dragon, Nicolas Jaar, Mayer Hawthorne, Portugal The Man, Felix Zenger, Laura Marling, Parov Stelar, Maylee Todd, Fuel Fandango, From Sarah, Diver, Serge Gainsbourg, General Elektriks, Mighty Oaks, Isbells, Casiokids, Albin de la Simone, Great Fire Mountain...

Meet Sarah HERE

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ABOUT THE NMO

2/16/2012

 
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The New Music Office (The NMO) is the independent network for everyone who works in and around the business of music.

What is The NMO for? Our websites are a gateway for new music, artists, events and businesses to reach decision-making professionals across borders and boundaries, with a view of establishing interesting new contacts with like-minded individuals, and creating genuine business opportunities with open-minded companies around the world.

Our network events are designed to give our members the chance to meet face to face in a friendly, business-oriented atmosphere. A place where everyone’s presence is of equal importance.

Who is The NMO for? The NMO is not a fan-site. It is aimed directly at those who work inside our industry with the view that it will make communication, co-operation and opportunity-making more effective for all, and especially help new artists and their representatives to reach as many potential partners as possible.

The NMO Featured Artist. There is a frequent, if irregular, email mail-out to a database of hundreds of industry professionals that will include The NMO Featured Artist.  These professionals include people associated with labels, publishers, concert promoters, booking agencies, PR & advertising agencies, and media - TV, radio, online and print -, as well as sponsors, brand managers, consulates and music export offices.

Our Word-of-Mouth Philosophy. We aim to make sure that no email, no contact, no opportunity is wasted for anyone by making sure that our members are only people that we personally know or are recommended personally by those we know. We do not advertise ourselves or sell ourselves. We exist because of favourable word-of-mouth and that is just how we like it. We feel that this is a way to protect our members and ourselves from wasting resources. As a valued member of our community, we ask you to feel free to recommend The NMO to anyone you think is interested and interesting.

Taste-making. The NMO features various genres of popular music and is building a reputation of recommending high quality music and artists that have gone on to establish strong profiles within the music industry.  For this reason, The NMO is fast becoming a leading taste-maker, and an essential place for all those needing to be at the cutting edge of new music.

In Summary:
The NMO is:
- a professional platform for professional people.
- a gateway for new music, artists, events and businesses to reach decision-making professionals
- an independent, neutral platform that can not be bought. 
- a trusted tastemaker for industry decision-makers.
- invitation-only, but free to use.
- essential.

The NMO is not:
- a fan-site.
- a blog.
- a deal broker
- useless.

CRAVE THE DATE!

2/16/2012

 
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The NMO is back! After a quiet year in 2011, we are back with a bang in 2012. With a new website, new staff, lots of new features, and plenty of new ideas, we look forward to being in touch with you again soon. In fact, our relaunch date is 29th February. The "extra" day is coming in most useful. Crave The Date!

    The NMO Newsblog


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