Left to Right: Chris Haaland, Frithjof Hungnes, Kristine Bjørnstad, Tim Dunham, J.T. Myers, Erlend Gjerde, Nick Roden.
Three of Norway’s leading independent record labels, Propeller Recordings, Indie Recordings and 777 Music, have merged to form a new label group called Sounds Like Gold, headquartered in Oslo, Norway and partnered with Virgin Music Group globally. The move makes Sounds Like Gold the leading independent recording company in the market and aims to provide a competitive option domestically in the region as well as providing unique expertise in exporting globally.
“This group of labels represent a powerhouse creative team of executives and artists in a very important region of the world,” said Nick Roden, Co-President of Virgin Music Group Europe. “We are looking forward to working with them to grow their business in Norway and in the rest of the world over the coming months.”
The company is being managed by the founders of Propeller Recordings, Indie Recordings and 777 Music to provide distribution, marketing, administration and creative support to teams working with artists like boy pablo, Highasakite, Gåte and Jan Eggum. Amongst the management team at Sounds Like Gold are 777 Music founders and former heads of Virgin Music Group’s Nordic operation Kristine Bjørnstad and Tim Dunham.
“We are very excited to continue to build on an already close relationship with Virgin Music Group who have been a key partner for several of our labels in their development. Virgin’s new structure and vision is very aligned with our group’s goals of providing best in class artist partnerships,” Bjørnstad, Managing Partner, Sounds Like Gold.
“This is a tremendous partnership for us to be able to support real growth and innovation in the independent recording community in Norway. We at Virgin Music Group believe that Sounds Like Gold has the potential to be a real game changer in this market,” said Chris Haaland, Country Manager Norway, Virgin Music Group.
Sounds Like Gold has also taken over operations of the historic record label Grappa and its affiliates. Grappa founder and Norwegian industry legend Helge Westbye is also joining the group as Chairman of its Board.
“This feels like a perfect solution for the continuation of Grappa’s legacy. I’m very confident that Grappa will be taken care of in the best possible way, while I stay on as owner” said Westbye, Founder of Grappa and Chairman of Sounds Like Gold.
Along with Grappa, Sounds Like Gold’s founders have a deep catalogue that includes 40 years of Norwegian music history in genres spanning pop, alternative, rock, metal, jazz, folk, classical, children’s music and much more. Such a solid foundation gives artists the possibility for focused support and investment, something that Sounds Like Gold’s General Manager and Chairperson of independent label association FONO, Erlend Gjerde, feels is missing in a market dominated by majors focussed on short term top 20 performance.
“The resources, freedom and community we have at Sounds Like Gold allow us to think long term and give artists the space and support to develop- something that we see competitors shying away from in favor of opportunistic thinking,” said Gjerde, General Manager, Sounds Like Gold.
