In the Scandinavian countries there are several places musicians can apply for financial support to record production, touring, etc. Although a really good thing every now and then the very relevant question arise: Is the money spent right and on the right artists? Recently Music Export Finland gave out this year’s tour support and here Eduardo Alonso from Glue takes a look at the Finnish system and asks said relevant question.

In the current doomed situation of the music industry with record sales in endless fall, touring is believed to be the most profitable way forward in the near future. This is also the general belief in Finland according to the latest research done by the export association Music Export Finland (Musex), so aspiring music stars must work hard and put together a top-class live act in order to have a chance of making a living as a musician. This is nothing new, of course, and legendary bands like Grateful Dead supported themselves touring constantly for thirty years, but with declining record sales the pay for live shows have become more important.

Pack your gear, load the van and get the show on the road: That is touring 101 and the start of any new band. But it is not that simple for young bands that need to make a name for themselves. Getting gigs and finding places to play requires a huge effort and dedication, and as I wrote last month, many artists need to combine touring with their regular jobs, so their available time to call promoters, clubs and even to travel to the shows is limited. Still, with passion and determination some bands can manage to pull off a few regular gigs.

The main cities in Finland offer a variety of clubs where bands can play, but in the smaller towns there might be only one or two clubs, which are usually booked by the better known  pop bands, so there is no place for new bands. Minor genres like indie or electronic music might have difficulties connecting with their audience. After a while, the touring circles in Finland can be exhausted and it might be a good idea to go overseas.

Accused of favoring major labels
To help bands touring abroad the Finnish Ministry of Education have since 2007 offered annual support grants to selected artists. The total amount of money given this year was 150.000 euros (around 210.000 USD) and it was distributed through Musex, whose board was in charge of reviewing the applications submitted by labels and bands. Fifteen bands were granted between 4000 and 16.000 euros and the criteria for their selection was based on the touring offers received from outside Finland.

Obviously, many applications were rejected and soon after the decision was announced complaints populated the media and accused Musex of favoring certain labels and record companies. Musex’s board, as an industry association, is formed by several business representatives including major record companies and those are supposedly the ones to have benefitted by the final decisions.

Questionable selection
I now stick my hands into music business politics and I really do not know if Musex acted irresponsibly, but looking at the list of bands that received grants I cannot help thinking that the selection is at the very least questionable.

Lordi (photo), Sunrise Avenue and The Five Corners Quintet are the bands receiving bigger shares, amounting to 16.000 euros each. I wonder if these multi-selling bands need this extra help to setup a tour outside Finland, especially a band like Lordi who have already peaked. In addition, some bands seemed to be subscribed to these grants: Hard rockers The 69 Eyes have received 30.000 euros in three years, folk metal band Turisas 22.000 and jazz band The Five Corners Quintet 26.000 euros.

Do these bands need a grant? Does this money make a difference for expensive productions like Lordi and Turisas? Would it not make more sense to share these funds among smaller bands so they can setup a tour in Europe and start making a name? It feels like they need it more.