– Large parts of Norwegian music exports come from Bergen, so it is quite natural to think that such an office should be located here, says Charlotte Spurkeland (H). The music community in Bergen, led by the organization Brak, has signaled since 2020 that they want a department to be established in the city. Now the politicians go much further. – Not realistic Stiftinga Music Norway has an office in Oslo with 12 employees. They work to facilitate the export and international profiling of Norwegian music. Together with party colleague Eivind Nævdal-Bolstad, Spurkeland is now proposing to move the entire Music Norway organization from Oslo to Bergen. – I think it is a good idea to dissolve the concentration of power that exists in Oslo and especially within the cultural sector. They will send the proposal to the city council in Bergen next week. The hope is that the municipality will enter into a dialogue with the music community and take the initiative against the government to move the company to Bergen. They point out that the music community in Bergen has previously taken the initiative to establish a Music Norway office in the city. – It is a national office that will see the whole of Norway anyway. We have to ask ourselves why things should be in Oslo, says Spurkeland. Tone Østerdal, director of Music Norway, believes that the proposal is not realistic at the present time. – I think it is strange that someone promotes such a proposal without contacting us, she says to news. She points out that it is difficult to make a statement when she does not know what is in the proposal from the politicians. Tone Østerdal, director of Music Norway. Photo: Ida Yasin Andersen / news We welcome the proposal – We are positive about bringing Music Norway to Bergen. Artists and bands from Bergen have long accounted for a large part of Norwegian music exports, and this will be recognized and strengthened with a physical office in the city, says daily manager Trine Gabrielsen of the music organization AKKS Bergen. Day-to-day manager Vegard Moberg in Brak is also positive about the proposal. – Bergen is a center of gravity in Norwegian music exports and there is still untapped potential on the business side, he says to news, and continued: – We have a lot of fantastic artists who think big and need to strengthen the part of the industry that manages the artists. If we succeed in this, the creative environment will flourish further, and only then will we see the city’s full potential. Spurkeland and Nævdal-Bolstad have built on the work the music industry in Bergen and Musikkontoret Brak have put in over several years. It will be exciting to follow the case further, he says. BIG: Aurora is one of the Bergen artists who has become big abroad. Photo: Tom Øverlie / news P3 A strength to get closer to It was in January 2020 that Brak first sent a letter to Music Norway where they took the initiative for a Bergen department. In November of the same year, a recording meeting was held where they discussed the needs of the industry in Bergen when it comes to exporting music. What is Music Norway? Music Norway is the Norwegian music industry’s export organization. Music Norway aims to facilitate export measures and international profiling of Norwegian music. Furthermore, they must establish and maintain strong international networks, and contribute to increasing market knowledge and business expertise in the Norwegian music industry. They prioritize exports to the USA, Great Britain and Germany. Music Norway is operated by the Ministry of Culture and receives subsidies from the state budget. In addition, they manage funds from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and are advisers to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the field of music. Today they have 12 employees. BT has previously written about these letters and the meeting. The work was put on hold, partly because the pandemic brought new challenges for the industry. When Music Norway in January 2023 advertised two positions with workplaces in Oslo, the music community wanted to seize the opportunity again. They thought that this was a good opportunity to establish a department in Bergen, and that employing more people in Oslo is in direct conflict with such an establishment. In the letter to Music Norway, they refer, among other things, to Music Norway’s report from 2017, which revealed that the music industry in Bergen is growing twice as fast as the rest of the country. They highlight examples such as Kygo, Alan Walker, Aurora, Wardruna, Boy Pablo and Röyksopp. INTERNATIONAL: Boy Pablo won the Spellemann prize “Breakthrough of the Year” in 2019. He has also made it big abroad. Photo: Kim Erlandsen / news P3 Furthermore, they also point to the fact that music exports from Bergen have been a phenomenon for several decades, and point to Kings of Convenience, Annie, Enslaved and Ralph Myers. The sender is a “collective industry in Bergen”, and the letter is signed by, among others, Girson Dias from NMGhuset, the manager of Kygo, Jan M. Bjordal and Geir Luedy from Made, who represents, among others, Aurora, Sigrid, dePresno and SKAAR. In addition, Bergen Live and the Vill Vill Vest festival have backed it. Want to lift the debate In the proposal to the city council, the politicians write that it is “natural and expedient that Music Norway’s work is led from the city, which is the country’s leading exporter of Norwegian music”. – We have many big names such as Aurora, Kygo and Alan Walker, but also Leif Ove Andsnes and others are important for Norway to export, says Spurkeland. Charlotte Spurkeland (H). Photo: news Hordaland / news Hordaland Spurkeland says she understands that the individuals who work in Music Norway today have their workplace in Oslo. – But all the processes where government workplaces have been moved from Oslo have been debated, but history has shown that it has gone very well. The Norwegian Competition Authority is an example of that. She points out that it is important for them to start a debate on the topic. – It is important to continuously work to reduce the concentration of power in the cultural sector in Oslo. There is a concentration of both money, jobs and power. Spreading it across the country has value in itself.
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Høgre wants to move the industry organization Music Norway from Oslo to Bergen – news Vestland
