Nordic Music Seminar - New York

The official part of the seminar was held on the 28th of November. Immediately following the seminar, a reception was held, functioning as a good arena for networking. The 29th of November began with a joint Norwegian and Danish breakfast meeting, and the rest of the day was reserved for private meetings with American companies. In total, 24 Norwegian music business people from 19 companies travelled to New York.

Brandon Stosuy, Pitchfork

Brandon Stosuy, from the renowned internet site Pitchfork Media moderated the seminar. Pitchfork receives over 200,000 hits every day and is an incredibly important music page for the independent scene. Reviews and articles featured on this site are said to have been essential in breaking bands such as the Arcade Fire, Sufjan Stevens and Norwegian band Serena-Maneesh.

David Fricke, Rolling Stone – The Journalist’s Viewpoint

The first speaker was David Fricke, Senior Editor of Rolling Stone. He gave his view on the Nordic scene and explained what about it appealed to him. He cited, among other things, Rune Grammofon as one of his favourite labels. In addition, he emphasized the importance for bands to show themselves through playing live, and how he always would prioritize going to concerts rather than listening to promos. He also emphasizes that he thinks that if music from smaller countries is going to break through in the American market, it has to be followed up by funding arrangements from the home country.

Allen Kovac, 10th Street Entertainment - Management

Allen Kovac, CEO and Partner of 10th Street Entertainment, discussed the management of artists in U.S. His company represents artists such as Blondie, Hanson and Mötley Crüe. Its latest signing is the Norwegian artist Marion Raven. Kovac showed the participants a show reel illustrating the development of Marion Raven, from the M2M period up to today.

Sanne Haggelsten, Zync Music - Sync. Licensing

Sanne Hagelsten, the founder of Zync Music, gave valuable insight into how the Americans use synchronization licensing to market music towards the advertising, film and gaming industries. Zync Music has placed music for clients such as Nike, 20th Century Fox, Absolut Vodka and Jaguar, to name a few. Among Norwegian bands she has arranged deals for Low Frequency In Stereo and Magnet. Hagelsten stated that Zync usually use music from unsigned artists and that they gladly use music from all over the world. Norwegian Kate Havnevik, who lives in the States, had her music used six times on the popular hospital series Grey's Anatomy. This resulted in a record deal with Universal.

Adam Shore, Vice Records – An Indie with an Attitude

The last lecturer was Adam Shore, General Manager and Head of A&R at Vice Records. He discussed the American record market and the Nordic music environment from an indie perspective. Shore emphasized that the successful export of Norwegian artists to the American indie market is dependent on a focus on whatÂ’s different and unique. Vice is behind the signings of Bloc Party, The Streets and the Norwegian act 120 Days for the American market. Adam Shore was also the man who released Annie in the USA.

Seymour Stein, Sire Records – The Best Ears in the Business

There was little doubt that for many, the high point of the afternoon was the in-depth interview with Seymour Stein, CEO and Co-founder of Sire Records. Seymour Stein is a living legend within the international music industry. At the age of 13 he got a job at Billboard. This was the start of a lifelong career within the business. In the course of his years in the industry, he has worked with some of the best heads the music business has ever seen. Syd Nathan, Phil Spector and Leiber & Stoller were all close friends. He is most known for his signing of Madonna, but has also signed the following heavyweights within popular music: Ramones, Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads and The Smiths, to name a few. Today, he is still known as having the best ears in the business, and recently signed the Australian act the Veronicas to a multi-million contract.

To a question about what was the most important aspect in breaking into the American market Mr. Stein answered, "My ex-wife is in real estate, where they say that three things matter: Location, Location, Location. To me, it's the same with the music business: Songs, songs and then songs."

The interview was conducted by the renowned and respected Billboard journalist Jim Bessman.

Follow this link to read the Norwegian consulate’s own article.