The by:Larm festival has long enjoyed its position as the Nordic region’s biggest music industry showcase. For this year’s event in February, it’s set to join forces with ICT Norway to launch an Interactive section for the very first time.
features nearly 150 acts performing in near 20 venues around Oslo, plus over 40 seminars, talks and celebrity Q&As. Now they are adding further value by gathering the “brightest minds and trailblazing companies in the fields of programming, gaming, digital design, mobile communication and entrepreneurship, in an arena where established companies can meet the next generation of ideas and visionaries and form meaningful and productive relationships that work both ways.”
Mashup
The music business has become a highly advanced technological industry, and Norway is leading the way. See, for instance, the new innovation hub initiative Mashup, built by various stakeholders from the Norwegian music industry including WiMP, Music Norway, ICT Norway, Phonophile and 657 Oslo. A huge amount of untapped potential lies in the interface between music and technology, and by:Larm includes the opportunity to pitch your idea to an expert jury during the festival. The competition is open to anyone, anywhere, wanting to develop a great idea within the musical sphere: more info here.
Top spot
Most surveys lead to the conclusion that streaming will gradually change every music market in the world over the years to come. Norway’s digital music market is the most advanced in the world, now accounting for 78 per cent of total revenues. Internal calculations from streaming music service WiMP show that, by 2020, the Norwegian music market will have regained the lost top line from 1999-2000 – the year Napster launched – and account for close to one billion NOK in yearly revenues.
SXSW
Inspired by the pioneering South By South West (SXSW) Interactive in Austin, Texas, by:Larm Interactive has ambitions to become the number one Nordic meeting point for digital technology. SXSW takes place in early March, and it’s an obvious destination for the City of Oslo, to promote and develop its own booming music and tech environments.