Wise Music Launches in Iceland

Wise Music Group announces the launch of Wise Music Iceland ehf in Reykjavik. This will be the first time a global publishing business has established a full publishing entity in the country.

The new venture will allow Wise Music the opportunity to work even more closely with their existing Icelandic composers, and writers based in the country, including Ólafur Arnalds, Hugar, Eydís Evensen, Anna Thorvaldsdottir and Dustin O'Halloran, and allow it to build new relationships with writers and composers across all musical genres.

Wise Music Iceland will be led by Inga Weisshappel who has been working for Wise Music in Iceland as music supervisor since the start of this year. In addition to her existing responsibilities Inga now becomes Wise Music’s lead point of contact in Iceland, and will liaise with composers, film and television production companies and STEF (the Icelandic collecting society).

The new company will operate as a joint venture between two famous Wise Music businesses - Edition Wilhelm Hansen (EWH) and Bosworth Music GmbH. EWH will be responsible for the day-to -day running of the company and technical aspects such as finance and royalties. Bosworth will be the driving partner with regard to A&R and new signings.

The launch of Wise Music Iceland will be celebrated today at a party at the Ásmundarsalur performing arts venue in Reykjavik ahead of the start of the festival Iceland Airwaves.

Inga Weisshappel, Wise Music Iceland ehf says, “These past months, working with Wise Music Group has been such a wonderful and unexpected adventure. Being able to spend my days admiring great music while surrounded by creative and passionate people is somewhat of a childhood dream coming true. I truly believe that our involvement in the local industry will have a real positive impact which makes me incredibly excited about what’s to come.”

Loui Törnqvist, managing director, Edition Wilhelm Hansen, comments, “We have had our eyes on this unique territory for quite a while, as the sheer quality of music being created in Iceland is so impressive. We also see a lot of potential of having an in-market presence in music supervision. Inga has been a tremendous addition to our team and we’re all excited to see how far we can take this.”

Michael Ohst, Bosworth Music says, " Working for many years with Icelandic artists like Ólafur Arnalds, Hugar, Eydís Evensen or Anna Thorvaldsdottir, we fully appreciate the unique artistic quality, professionalism and the cultural richness of Iceland. We want to nurture our relationships with Icelandic artists and to explore new creative potentials. We are also looking forward to discovering new talent and collaborations as well as continuing our valuable relationships."