Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.10.2012, Síða 12

12
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 16 — 2012
The best of Icelandic design and
delicious hand made chocolate.
The oldest house in Reykjavík
holds many modern treasures.
Aðalstræti 10
Monday - Friday 9:00 - 20:00
Saturday 10:00 - 17:00
Sunday 12:00 - 17:00 i c e l a n d i c d e s i g n
council’s proposal to build a wild
animal museum, the town’s resi-
dents association argued that they
should instead build a “vulva mu-
seum.” They said it would provide a
nice counterbalance to Reykjavík’s
famous penis museum. They also
said a local slaughterhouse had
already offered to donate several
animal vulvae, and that Pussy Riot
could maybe be booked to perform
at the opening. However, the whole
thing turned out to be pure satire
meant to poke fun at the town
council. Kudos, Mosfellsbær. You
win this round.
Norwegian retail chain Europris announced that
it would be shutting its doors in
Iceland. Every em-
ployee received
a letter stating
they would be
sent packing at
the end of Oc-
tober. Also, the
store announced
a 50-70% sale, provoking throngs
of shoppers to make a mad rush
to buy the last remaining garden
torches and tacky plastic flowers.
Essentially, employees were told,
“You have a month left, and you will
have to work harder than ever dur-
ing that time.” Here’s hoping they
move on to greener pastures, such
as Krónan, or possibly Tiger.
Apparently it was wrong of us to put former Prime
Minister Geir H. Haarde on trial
all along. Pieter Omtzigt, an EMP
for the center-right European
People's Party, wrote a memo for
the EU parliament’s committee on
Legal Affairs and Human Rights,
arguing that the trial blurred the
line between political and criminal
prosecution. Article 14 of the Con-
stitution of Iceland holds ministers
accountable for executive acts,
and Geir opted to willfully ignore
information about the instability
of Iceland’s economy as one of his
executive acts. But hey, the whole
thing was just a leftist revenge fan-
tasy and Geir was flogged for the
sins of others. That is, if you count
receiving no punishment whatso-
ever and being handed a cushy job
at a law firm almost immediately
after the trial, a form of martyrdom.
Poor guy.
— Continued —
Skúli Helgason was a radio host on Rás 2 and Bylgjan for 15 years in the
eighties and nineties.
NEWS IN BRIEF
NEWS IN ICELAND
OCTOBER
Iceland | Music
When the crowds gather in Reykja-
vík for this year’s Iceland Airwaves,
Alþingi may not be the first item on
their sight-seeing ‘to do’ list. But a
handful of Members of Parliament
are nonetheless working to insti-
tute a comprehensive review of the
country’s music scene, to provide
greater government support for
young, up-and-coming artists ply-
ing their trade.
A parliamentary motion proposed by
former radio host and music industry
bigwig Skúli Helgason is calling for the
creation of a taskforce to explore what
the government can do to support and
strengthen music publishing, promo-
tion, research and development, the
live scene and exportation of Icelandic
music.
Signed by 15 MPs from all parties,
the resolution highlights the impor-
tance of the Icelandic music scene in
attracting tourists to the country as well
as the impact of music on the national
economy, responsible for as much as
a quarter of jobs in the cultural sector.
The motion cites Iceland Airwaves as a
player, bringing in almost a billion ISK in
2012.
Lack of support
“Other cultural genres have tradition-
ally had far more support than the
music industry—especially what you’d
call popular music,” Skúli insists. “The
visual arts, literature, even classical
music have more support, for example
through funding for the Icelandic Sym-
phony Orchestra or the Icelands Opera.
I’m all for that obviously, but we can-
not expect the music scene to be self-
sufficient.”
“The live scene is especially impor-
tant,” he says. “It is only a couple of
years since Iceland Airwaves began to
be supported by the national govern-
ment. If Icelandic artists are to be suc-
cessful abroad, they need to get some
experience from touring locally.”
“At the moment,” he points out, “there
are only a handful of venues available
for them to play—most of them in Reyk-
javík. You can count on one hand the
number of places where artists can go
in the rest of the country and expect to
get a decent audience.”
The government already supports
the work of the Iceland Music Export
office, which promotes and produces
Iceland Airwaves. The annual festival
was, however, founded by Icelandair,
which Skúli says might explain the lack
of early government support.
“People said it was a private event
run by a successful company and so
didn’t deserve support. But this wasn’t
the case, as it was running a deficit for
some years. That’s changed now, and
the support Iceland Airwaves has had
from the Icelandic government in 2010
and 2011 has done a lot of good.”
More than funding
It is however not a question of more
funding for Icelandic music. “I want to
see people who have expertise in the
field study all aspects of the industry,”
he says. Despite the skyrocketing suc-
cess in recent years both in Icelandic
exports and the local scene, Skúli and
the supporting parliamentarians main-
tain that there are huge challenges still
facing the industry.
The rapid expansion in online mu-
sic distribution is one such major issue
Skúli says needs to be addressed. For
instance, it is estimated that as much as
1.7 billion ISK is lost every year through
illegal downloading in Iceland, accord-
ing to the resolution. “We still haven’t
found an effective way of tackling the
problem,” he admits. “It is important to
make sure artists and publishers get
their fair share for their work, at the
same time as ensuring users retain the
access to music they presently enjoy.”
Skúli insists there is broad support
across the industry for a full study. “I’ve
spoken to a lot of people and had a
great deal of support for doing this,” he
says. “That includes the publishing in-
dustry, the live scene, and artists them-
selves—it’s crucial to have the support
of the business.”
Whether or not the resolution finds
political support in the last parliamen-
tary session before next spring’s gen-
eral election is another question. “I’ve
been successful in securing the sup-
port of MPs of all parties,” Skúli says,
“but the resolution has not yet been put
on the agenda for discussion. There is
a lot of competition in the final year of
a term, but I’m hopeful the resolution
will get some time and eventually be
approved.”
Does Icelandic Music Need More Support?
Radio host turned MP Skúli Helgason calls
for sound check on Icelandic music scene
Words
Mark O'Brien
Photography
Alísa Kalyanova
“
You can count on one
hand the number of places
where artists can go in
the rest of the country
and expect to get a decent
audience. „