Morning Coffee with the Nordics

Where are you having your morning coffee on Thursdays? We suggest you join NOMEX (Nordic Music Export) and have your Morning Coffee with the Nordics, every Thursday for 5 weeks from 15 October.

Looked upon as one, the Nordics is the world’s 6th largest market for recorded music and the industry is rapidly growing.  The talent out of the region seems to be never ending. Even several years after the first major international success, artists, writers and producers from the Nordic countries are continuing to dominate charts worldwide.

In Morning Coffee with the Nordics we go behind the scenes of some of these recent successes as well as speak to innovating music companies expanding in the region and discuss intra-Nordic collaborations with artists and labels.

Girl in red is 21 year old Marie Ulven from Norway who has become a global bedroom pop phenomenon with a massive fanbase all over the world. In her very short career, she has amassed over 6.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify, 1million subscribers on Youtube and her songs have more than 565 million global streams across catalogue. The term do you listen to girl in red?  has also become an international code within the queer community for identifying other queer people, with its own explanation on Urban Dictionary and now also the core of a recent successful global marketing campaign. All of this while still being totally independent and before she’s even released her debut album.

In this panel you get to meet her team and hear the strategies around her success, how Covid-19 has opened new doors and what the plans are for ‘world in red’ world domination. 

Introduction by Music Norway Director, Kathrine Synnes Finnskog

Panel:
Ben Blackburn - Twentyten Management 
Tom Prideaux – Project Manager AWAL
Anna Mason – International Product Manager AWAL
Carly James – Booking Agent, Paradigm

Viagra Boys - driving a 4 year party train from Stockholm’s underground scene, to the line up of Coachella.

Viagra Boys is an unapologetically raw sextet comprised of classically trained jazz musicians, karaoke loving tattoo artists and seasoned hardcore scene veterans, churning out spastic, pulsating sounds from the sub levels of contemporary rock music. A fractured, perhaps disillusioned act, wrapped up and held together by inextinguishable bravado, explosive appearances and resourceful songwriting. The band started in 2016, and has since then made their way from the Stockholm underground scene, to being the only Swedish act booked for American giant festival Coachella in 2020.  With over 180 feverish live shows to support their latest release ‘Street Worms’ (2018), and with several Grammy nominations and an Impala Award in the bag, Viagra Boys are currently working on new music while their songs keep shaking the world, not the least through the latest Tony Hawks Pro Skater video game soundtrack. 

By Viagra Boys side stands independent label YEAR0001 - A hybrid music company based out of a 20th century stable in Stockholm. YEAR0001 acts as creative platform a for recording artists, offering an independent, artist friendly and transparent mindset. Currently offering management, publishing and label services to a number of impressive international successes in their roster, for example Yung Lean, Nadia Tehran and Bladee, plus producers GUD and whitearmor.

Introduction by Export Music Sweden Director, Jesper Thorsson

Panel: Moderator: Jan Gradvall, Music Journalist Oskar Ekman, CEO and Co-Founder at YEAR0001

Moderator: Jan Gradvall, Music Journalist For the last 40 years Jan Gradvall has been one of the leading music journalists in Sweden. He has won several awards and written books, known for his world exclusive interviews with ABBA and Max Martin. He was part of the jury for Nordic Music Prize for the first three years. Some of his articles have been translated and published in Norway, Denmark and Finland. Jan Gradvall lives and works in Stockholm. 

Oskar Ekman, CEO and Co-Founder at YEAR0001 Oskar Ekman, a punk enthusiast and veteran in the Swedish live music industry, who has managed and advised some of the Nordics most successful and largest artists for over 15 years and now active in bridging and innovating the voids of the creative music industry. YEAR0001 - A hybrid music company based out of a 20th century stable in Stockholm. YEAR0001 acts as creative platform a for recording artists, offering an independent, artist friendly and transparent mindset. Currently offering management, publishing and label services.

Isac Elliot – How to build a Nordic pop star

With multiple number 1 radio hits, two won MTV Music Awards for Best Finnish Act and undeniable talent, Isac Elliot is one of Finland’s most successful, rising and thriving international pop superstars. During his career, he has gained popularity and toured all over the world, including Europe, USA and China.

It’s clear that it all did not happen by a mystical wave of a magic wand. In reality, building a pop star means putting in a lot of sweat, working hard to make connections, promote the artist and take the music and steps to the next level.

During this panel, an experienced panel consisting of Isac Elliot’s team members will reveal the turn of events behind Isac Elliot’s career, giving the audience an insight how they overcame the competition and got the right attention for international success. 

Introduction by Music Finland Director, Kaisa Rönkkö

Panel:
Dolapo Alafe-Aluko / manager, First Access Entertainment
Fredi Lunden / A&R, Warner Music Finland
Others TBC

Of Monsters and Men

The Icelandic breakout act, Of Monsters and Men, started making waves after the Iceland Airwaves festival in 2011 and went on to form a partnership with Heather first as their agent and then as their manager, and through her work, signed a worldwide deal with Universal in the US in 2012, and have since been active on the international scene.

Iceland Music will present a case study of the international career of Icelandic band OMAM who have built a career with their manager Heather Kolker over a period of 8 years.

Heather will be interviewed by Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir, former head of NOMEX, and they will be touching on the strategies and structures that have molded the bands career.

Heather started her career in 1994 in Portland Oregon working for Monqui Presents - concert promoters, doing shows throughout Oregon and Washington state, before starting as the day to day manager for The Dandy Warhols.

In 2002, she started working at Little Big Man Booking Agency (which ultimately became Paradigm Talent Agency) in New York where she worked as an agent until 2015. She was the agent for Tame Impala, MGMT, Edward Sharpe, Francis and the Lights, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Drums and others. 

She now works as a manager at Mick Management where she manages OMAM and MUNA. 

Introduction by Iceland Music Director, Sigtryggur Baldursson

Panel: Heather Kolker, Mick Management Moderator: Anna Hildur Hildibrandsdóttir

The Bank

Danish company "The Bank" is structured in a Nordic fashion with offices in both Sweden and Finland. Focusing on a wide range of music business initiatives The Bank encompasses both Publishing, Label, Management and even run their own recording studios.

Some of the artists represented by the artist are: Saveus, Alphabeat, Peter Sommer, AV AV AV, Elias, Joyce, Malou Prytz, Andreas Mattson, Sara Ryan, Isa Tengblad, Kape Yeel, Douda, Elias Hurtig, Hymner, and m.m

In this panel we speak to CEO Jakob Sørensen who will guide us through the company office and rather than discussing past cases we will take a deep dive into how they are planning to build their artists and their company in the coming year.

Introduction by Music Export Denmark Director, Thomas Rhode

Panel: Jakob Sørensen, CEO of The Bank