Despite having a population of just 120,000, Reykjavik — the capital of Iceland — has produced globally successful musicians like Björk, Sugarcubes, Mugison, Múm, and Sigur Rós.
At Music Cities Convention 2016, I met Bjorn Blondal — bassist of Icelandic rock band HAM, and now the Deputy Mayor of Reykjavik. Because Bjorn is also a musician, he understands exactly what the music scene needs to thrive in his city. He cautioned against quantifying everything related to music. But he said more people from arts and culture need to step into politics and change things from the inside.
Creative Industries in the Nordic Countries
In the Nordic countries, creative industries have a clear roadmap: Sweden’s creative industries contribute 5% of GDP; Denmark’s design, fashion, film, and music sectors are export-driven; Norway’s creative industries account for 3.5% of total GDP; Finland generates 1.5% of GDP from creative industries.
The Drive to Be Different
Reykjavik is a small city, but a highly competitive modern one where most residents are online. There are very few rehearsal studios — but rather than producing standardized music, this scarcity has pushed musicians to develop something different. Icelandic bands tend to be genuinely unique.
Making the Most of Limitations
For a very long time, it was incredibly difficult to find instruments in Iceland. Because instruments were so hard to come by, the human voice became the primary instrument of Icelandic music. Every town has a choir.
Icelanders’ ability to work around limitations also means they’ve embraced the DIY spirit of punk. Even today, no major labels have a presence in Iceland. It’s all independent labels.
Punk Mentality in the Face of Economic Crisis
This mentality directly helped the Icelandic music scene weather the financial crisis. Many young musicians channeled their anger at banks and politicians into creating new music. Bjorn and his friends formed a political party that won elections — powered by young people fed up with the old system.