The New Bosses 2024: Snorri Ástráðsson

The 17th edition of IQ Magazine’s New Bosses, in association with Futures Forum, was revealed in IQ 129, recognising 20 of the most promising 30-and-unders in the international live music business. 

To get to know this year’s class a little better, IQ conducted interviews with each one of 2024’s New Bosses, discovering their greatest inspirations and pinpointing the reasons for their success.

Born and raised in Reykjavík, Snorri Ástráðsson became a runner for festivals such as Secret Solstice, Iceland Airwaves, and Sónar Reykjavík at the age of 15. A year later, he launched his own festival, Hip Hop Hátíðin, as a one-day, free event featuring Icelandic hip-hop talent. Snorri now heads up promoter Garcia Events, which to date has promoted acts such as Skepta, Sammy Virji, and Yung Lean, as well as many Scandinavian and Icelandic acts. He also manages the careers of many of Iceland’s hip-hop and electronic artists.

It was today (20 August) announced that Ástráðsson has joined the promoter team at All Things Live Denmark. This New Bosses 2024 interview was conducted prior to the move.

From being a runner one year to organising your own free festival 12 months later is astonishing. Looking back, what was the most challenging part of that; and what was the biggest lesson you learned?
It was definitely learning under pressure and figuring things out as we went so if I had to think back I would probably say that dealing with regulatory bureaucracy and convincing city officials that it would be a great idea to let a couple of 16-year-olds put on a festival was the hardest part. I learned a lot – especially how to manage commercial partnerships, something that stayed with me throughout the years.

First-year festivals notoriously lose money, and yours was a free event. What was your experience financially, and do you have tips for Snorri wannabees in other countries to emulate what you’ve done?
For Hip Hop Hátíðin it was always about creating something for the culture and I think that translated well to our partners as well as the artists performing. Therefore when it came to financial needs we were able to do more with less. The festival was funded by commercial partnerships and small grants from the city of Reykjavík. If I were to bring back the festival I would look more into the available funding that exists, especially in the Nordics, and make it work to our advantage.

“Iceland is a small market with very few promoters so chances are that if I reach out to an agent regarding a show, I will be the only one”

Tell us more about Hip Hop Hátíðin – how many venues, how many acts, how many fans, etc? And what are the future plans for the festival? And will you do something similar for your local electronic acts?
Hip Hop Hátíðin was a one-day, outdoor festival that took place on a night in August called “Menningarnótt” or Culture Night in Reykjavík. Essentially the whole city turns into a venue in a sense, and individual festivals and events pop up around the city.

At Hip Hop Hátíðin we always worked with just one stage and had an average attendance of about 8,000 people. Me and my co-founders retired the festival after the 2019 edition as we moved on to other things but who knows if we will bring it back eventually. As for the local electronic acts, there is definitely a need that needs fulfilling and we at Garcia Events are in talks of creating something for them as well.

Organising events for some local hip-hop acts is one thing but how does a young promoter persuade Skepta and others to visit Iceland?
Iceland is a very exciting place for artists from the UK or US – the obscurity of Reykjavík is definitely a draw. It is also a small market with very few promoters so chances are that if I reach out to an agent regarding a show, I will be the only one that has tried to make that particular show happen in Iceland. The barrier to entry in the market was quite low in that sense.

The Skepta show however created a snowball for us, and the success of that show built the foundation for our current operations, so big thanks to Rebecca Prochnik for trusting me and Garcia in the beginning.

Young promoters across Europe will be envious of your ability to have agents and managers trust you. Do you have any tips for them?
Give it a shot and don’t get discouraged if answers are scarce. You only need that first show to get the ball rolling.

“Lead with kindness always and aim to make friends with all of the festival staff, from the director to the volunteers”

Do you have a mentor that you learn from or someone you can rely on to bounce ideas off?
I am very fortunate to have had guidance from a variety of industry professionals in Iceland since my start in the business but a vital figure and perhaps the most important mentor has always been my brother Egill. I am very lucky to have him to guide me and to work alongside him at Garcia.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given so far?
Rather than a single piece of advice, I’d say my general upbringing in the music industry was defined by the culture that my then-supervisors and now co-workers had set within this sometimes crazy working environment – which is to lead with kindness always and aim to make friends with all of the festival staff, from the director to the volunteers.

Iceland has a long reputation for producing outstanding talent – who on your roster should promoters around the world be looking out for?
I am a firm believer that all of my artists have great export potential even though they perform in their native tongue but, in the immediate future, I believe that Young Nazareth is the one that promoters should be keeping their eye on. A world-class producer/artist creating dance music inspired by his upbringing in Icelandic hip hop, his surroundings in Berlin as well as the UK garage and grime scene.

You are both an artist manager and a promoter. Do you think one discipline benefits more from the skills you have than the other?
I think they complement each other rather than one position benefitting the other. By working in these two different aspects of the industry I can understand all perspectives and effectively work towards my goals as a manager or promoter.

In five years’ time, you’re still going to be on the young side of 30. What are your ambitions during that timespan?
To hopefully continue to work with amazing people all over and create more memorable experiences.

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