New GM for Norwegian promoters’ association
Siri Haugan Holden has been named the new general manager of Norway’s promoters’ association, Norske Konsertarrangøre (NKA).
She joins the organisation from Balansekunst, an association of over 100 Norwegian art and cultural organisation working for an equal and diverse cultural life, where she was GM.
Haugan Holden will take up office on 1 January 2023, replacing Tone Østerdal who has held the top job since 2018.
“I am very happy for the trust and the opportunity to be involved in further developing Norske Kulturarrangøre’s industry-wide work together with the talented group of staff and board,” says Haugan Holden.
NKA has set a membership record this year, and today represents around 480 cultural organisers from all over Norway
“The long-term effects of the corona pandemic, in combination with large price increases and a troubled world situation, make this a demanding time for cultural organisers.
“In the face of changing framework conditions, it becomes important to hold on to the uniqueness and societal role of art and culture, and I look forward to being an active player for the members in the time to come. Tone Østerdal has made a formidable effort for both NKA and the cultural field during her term of office, so it is with awe that I take on the task.”
NKA chairman Trude Storheim adds: “We are very happy to have hired Siri Haugan Holden, and we look forward to working together for an expanded and stronger NKA in the future. Haugen Holden is highly skilled and her experience and background are perfect for further developing the organisation towards our vision of a sustainable organising field.”
NKA has set a membership record this year, and today represents around 480 cultural organisers from all over Norway.
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Norway’s live sector is stuck playing a waiting game
We’re rather used to being on the top of the world, up here in Norway. We have oil wealth and plenty of fish in the sea. We’re a country that always ranks high in the World Happiness Report and on the UN’s list of the best places to live.
The government’s strict actions in handling the Covid-19 pandemic have also made us one of the countries with high scores on the Covid Resilience Ranking. But the Norwegian live music business is still stuck in the rut. More than it needs to be.
Little did we know, when IQ Magazine published its Norway Market Report in October 2019, how rapidly our world would change. The Norwegian live music business hit “the corona wall” during the first week of March 2020 and has been in the dark ever since.
Up until then, the business had been thriving, growing on average 5% every year since 2012, reaching NOK5.3billion [€500m] in 2019. The concert business makes up 57% of that, being worth NOK3bn [€290m].
Without knowledge of how funding will be distributed, it’s almost impossible for organisers to take a financial risk
Our experience with the pandemic has been similar to most other countries. The cycle of lockdown, followed by periods of careful optimism, followed by new waves of the virus spreading rapidly, and new lockdowns. Being in an economically privileged situation, the Norwegian government already provided compensation from the scheme for organisers and subcontractors in the cultural sector in the early days of the pandemic.
Since then, the government has also launched a stimulation scheme, aiming to get organisers back in business, even with limited capacities and social distancing regulations. The last sum added to the pile was NOK350m [€33m] for a financial safety net to allow festival organisers to plan for July and August without the financial risk posed by a potential Covid outbreak. This makes us fortunate in so many ways, and we know it.
But it’s not all fun and games. The major problem now is that none of the announced emergency funding schemes for the cultural sector are up and running for 2021. Without knowledge of how funding will be distributed, it’s almost impossible for organisers to take a financial risk planning anything. No one really doubts the good intentions from our minister of culture, Abid Q. Raja, to keep the music business afloat, but the money can’t help anyone if it’s not being distributed.
The money can’t help anyone if it’s not being distributed
There’s also a growing frustration that emergency funding for 2020 has had some severe failures, especially regarding artists and subcontractors in the cultural sector. For the associations in the live music business, who have struggled with the government to get the funds to work according to their intentions, the last 11 months can best be described as an everlasting uphill race.
As we close in on the one-year mark, it’s also getting more and more obvious that we’re falling behind on the road to reopening. The ministry of cultural affairs has appointed a working group that has been tasked with the safe reopening of large outdoor events this summer. But the Norwegian government can be described as risk averse, at best.
Some will claim that the cultural sector is being systematically prioritised last when it comes to the government’s measures to tackle the pandemic; always the first to be shut down, always the last allowed to open. Venues are still under strict regulations. From Tuesday 23 February, you can put on concerts with a maximum capacity of 100 people indoors, regardless of how large your venue is.
It seems utopian to even think about doing test shows in Norway in the foreseeable future
We have urged the government to differentiate more, to trust organisers’ professionalism and serious experience in crowd management. If the max capacity in shops and department stores can vary in accordance with the space available, why not apply the same to venues? But the health authorities say it’s “too hard,” and by applying this to politics, the government continues to ignore the fact that the only thing that can save the music business as a whole is to bring us back to live, in numbers.
The health authorities are also showing little or no sign of wanting to talk about a reopening strategy, and it seems utopian to even think about doing test shows in Norway in the foreseeable future. It’s quite ironic, considering the resources we possess as a nation.
So, with no available funding and very limited possibilities for planning and doing live shows, the Norwegian live music business is stuck playing a waiting game. It’s excruciating, and we see people giving up on the music business every week. Still, we have to look for the rays of hope. We will return to live.
Tone Østerdal is CEO of the Norwegian Live Music Association (Konsertarrangor)
New MD for Norwegian promoters’ association NKA
Tone Østerdal, formerly head of culture for Norway’s Akershus county, has been named managing director of the Norwegian Live Music Association (NKA).
Østerdal (pictured), who is also chairman of promoter nyMusikk, has served as a deputy member of the NKA board since 2015. She moves into her new role on 1 August.
“I’m proud and happy to get this opportunity,” she comments. “I have worked across the entire arts and cultural sector for many years, but there is no doubt that music is closest to my heart, so it’s amazing to get to work more closely with the music business in future.
“The music industry is growing, and it is being driven by the live business. Total revenue has increased most in recent years. At the same time, we know that many of NKA’s members are struggling with increased demands…
“It’s amazing to get to work more closely with the music business in future”
“I am committed to ensuring NKA will strengthen member dialogue and focus even more on influencing policy on behalf of promoters in Norway for a long time to come.”
NKA (Norske Konsertarrangøre/Norwegian Concert Promoters, known in English as the Norwegian Live Music Association) represents around 340 concert promoters across Norway.
Read IQ’s recent in-depth report on the Norwegian live market below:
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