Finnish musical invasion of Britain and Germany to continue

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This September will see Finnish music continuing its remarkable year in the UK, as Sounds like Helsinki  lands at the In The City trade fair and festival (ITC) on September 20th. This is to be backed up by a promotional campaign in co-operation with Music Week, including a CD insert three weeks prior to the event. Moreover, Finnish music companies are marching as a stronger front than ever to the new Popkomm in Berlin at the end of September.
      The performances of the Finnish artists at the events are coordinated by Music Export Finland (Musex Finland) with the support of the Finnish Ministry of Trade and Industry, administered by Finpro.
     
In The City - a key event in the British music industry calendar - will present Sounds Like Helsinki, on Monday, September 20th. Five bands have been selected to present their material in an evening of two parts at Bar 38 in downtown Manchester.
      The Helsinki Action Night will kick off with Tigerbombs, who are releasing their latest single to coincide with the event. Next up is Boomhauer, and Bitch Alert will conclude the first half.
      Helsinki Club Night then follows with the rhythms of Giant Robot and RinneRadio.
      The UK’s biggest music industry trade magazine Music Week  will launch a promotional campaign to support the Finnish showcase three weeks prior to the Manchester event. A compilation featuring 18 tracks from both established and new Finnish talents Finns Ain’t What They Used To Be, Version 1.1 will be sent to all the nearly 8,000 subscribers of the magazine on August 30th.
     
The Popkomm trade fair in Berlin selected a record of 14 Finnish artists out of the thousand proposals sent worldwide to the official showcase programme.
      The rock bands Melrose, Boomhauer, Bitch Alert, and Velcra will play the famed Club Magnet on Wednesday, September 29th. Also DJ Slow and hip hop sensation Redrama will be performing on the same night.
     
"The recent success stories of HIM, The Rasmus and Nightwish has created interest in Finnish music in Germany", says A&R Director Tom Frisk of Warner Chappell Music Finland.
     
Musex published the first surveys on the value of Finnish music exports last autumn. According to the survey the value was about EUR 15.5 million in 2001. A new survey will be published in October.
      However, part of the income remains outside Finland. For instance The Rasmus has a Swedish record company and a German publisher, and Nightwish just signed a contract in Germany. According to Frisk, this kind of brain drain is becoming a fairly large problem to Finland.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  HIM joins The Rasmus on British Top 10 singles chart (4.5.2004)
  New agency launched to export Finnish pop music (21.1.2003)

Links:
  Musex Finland

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