SPOT+ is the networking and conference part of SPOT Festival, where you can meet other business professionals from the Danish and international music industry. Curious to know who will be attending this year’s SPOT+? We have interviewed a number of industry professionals, that will all be part of the conference this year.
Name: Søren Falk Madsen
Company: Playground Music Scandinavia
Title: Senior International Label Manager/International Label Relations and Development
Why are you attending SPOT+ this year?
I value the networking part highly. My work consists of maintaining, expanding, and developing the international network of our independent label collaborators. Because of this I look forward to meeting both existing partners and new potential partners.
Can you tell us a little about what the primary tasks consist of in your job?
In relation to our international label part, they consists of releasing and distributing our international partner labels in Denmark and the rest of the Nordic countries. At the same time, as mentioned above, my job is to continuously maintaining, expanding and developing our international network of partner labels.
What is the most exciting project you have worked on in your current position?
Hmmm there has been a lot. But seeing some of our international partner labels – XL Rec, 4AD, Domino, Ninja Tune, Secretly Canadian and more – grow to the position and size they have today, has been a very exciting journey.
Simultaneously, on the artist side, it has been fun to be a part of leading and following a band like The National from the (legendary) show at Loppen, to them playing a sold-out Royal Arena. And being a part of releasing the first three Adele albums (19, 21 and 25).
When and how did your interest in music start?
It started in childhood, where my dad would listen to T. Rex, The Beatles, and more, and my uncle introduced me to Bruce Springsteen and Travelling Wilburys.
My “adult” interest in music emerged – very specifically – on a rainy Tuesday morning in Soho, London, where I as a newly hatched graduate has gone to look at the world and found it in a record store in Soho, where they were playing Oasis’ debut album ‘Definitely Maybe’. Here I thought, ”this is the album I’ve always been looking for”. And the rest is, well, history.
Which concerts are you most looking forward to seeing at SPOT this year?
All the ones that have the sound of country, folk and americana. And the shows, you just happen to come upon, listen to and be immersed in.
SPOT+ er netværks- og konferencedelen af SPOT Festival, hvor du kan møde andre branchefolk fra den danske og internationale musikindustri. Er du nysgerrig på, hvem der deltager i dette års SPOT+? Vi har interviewet en række branchepersoner, der alle kommer til at være en del af konferencen i år.
Navn: Søren Falk Madsen
Virksomhed: Playground Music Scandinavia
Titel: Senior International Label Manager/International Label Relations and Development
Hvad håber du at få ud af at deltage til SPOT+ i år?
Jeg vægter netværksdelen højt. Mit arbejde fokuserer på at vedligeholde, udbygge og udvikle det internationale netværk af samarbejdspartnere, vi har af internationale independent musikselskaber. Derfor ser jeg frem til at møde både eksisterende partnere og samtidig få muligheden for at møde nye potentielle partnere.
Hvad består dine kerneopgaver i hos din virksomhed?
I forhold til vores internationale label-del består de i at udgive og distribuere vores internationale partner-labels i Danmark og resten af Norden. Samtidig er det, som nævnt ovenfor, min opgave kontinuerligt at vedligeholde, udbygge og udvikle vores internationale netværk af partner-labels.
Hvad er det mest spændende projekt, du har siddet med i din nuværende stilling?
Hmmm, der har været rigtig mange. Men at se nogle af vores internationale partner-labels – XL Rec, 4AD, Domino, Ninja Tune, Secretly Canadian osv. – vokse til den position og størrelse, de har i dag, har været en meget spændende rejse.
Samtidig har det på artist-fronten været sjovt at være med til at føre og følge et band som The National fra (den legendariske) koncert på Loppen, til de spillede et udsolgt Royal Arena. Og at være med til at udgive de første tre album fra Adele (19, 21 og 25).
Hvornår og hvordan startede din interesse for musik?
Den startede fra barnsben af, hvor min far lyttede til T. Rex, The Beatles, osv., og min onkel introducerede mig for Bruce Springsteen og Travelling Wilburys.
Min “voksne” interesse for musikken opstod – meget konkret – på en regnvåd tirsdag formiddag i Soho, London, hvor jeg som nyudklækket student var taget ud for at kigge på verden og bl.a. fandt den i en pladebutik i Soho, hvor de spillede Oasis’ debutalbum ‘Definitely Maybe’. Her tænkte jeg, “det er det album, jeg altid har ledt efter”. Og resten er jo så historie.
Hvilke koncerter ser du mest frem til at se på SPOT i år?
Alle dem, der har lyden af country, folk og americana. Og så de koncerter, hvor man tilfældigt bare kommer forbi, lytter med og bliver draget ind.
