Official visit to the US: Music industry network

Minister
Consul General
Director
Music Norway’s Master students and
our American friends

I am happy to meet you all – here in the most important centre for music and in a city that is a centre for many cultural industries. I hope the morning session was productive and will be in the continuation as well.

Creating relationships and learning from each other is essential in an increasingly global music industry.

Business is of course not just about strategies and bottom lines, it's also about chemistry and relationship between people. About being curious, listening to stories and sharing experiences.

I am glad that some of the brightest talents from the Norwegian music industry is here to learn, to gain insight and to build networks. Kudos to Music Norway for bringing Norwegian talents to New York to learn from some of the best in the industry.

The music industry has been hit very hard by the pandemic – like most industries that revolve around people meeting other people, artists performing, and audiences buying tickets. It is encouraging to see that slowly the world is returning to something more normal.

I’ve had a some really memorable concert experiences in New York and in the United States, and I am happy to see that opportunities are opening once again.

Now I am looking forward to listening in on your conversations and learning more about the challenges you see and the hopes you have for the music industry in a post-pandemic world.

And to you Norwegians, I hope you will find these days in New York to be inspiring and that you will establish relationships that will benefit both American and Norwegian music lovers.

Thank you.