Good afternoon.

I’ve been so looking very much forward to being here today, at the South by South West festival here in Austin. A city, I have heard referred to as the ‘Live Music Capital’ of the world.  And I did a little search to find out who are the biggest names to come out of Austin and Texas and quickly found out, that even those who are officially making the lists of these artists run into problems in keeping the names to below a hundred.

Clearly, the music scene is a vibrant one and also a nurturing place for talented musicians.

Music is both very personal and very unifying. It speaks in emotions. It is exhilarating, calming, energizing, healing, soulful, inspiring, romantic, aspirational. It is one and everything.

The impact of music or the meaning of music has been expressed in words throughout thousands of years. From its political purpose, to it being the weave in the social fabric of the societies in which we live, to the dullness of life without it. 

Many have written about music, because music touches us.  Plato said it like this:

“Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.”

The famous 19th Century Danish writer, Hans Christian Andersen once wrote: “Where language fails, music speaks”.  And that is something, coming from such a prolific writer who was also known for never being short of something to say. 

A song or a piece of music can be so personal and so intense, because you connect it with specific events in your life. And at the same time you share it with thousands or millions of others.

A certain piece of music can transport you in time and place – to a memory or a future dream.

In the Nordic countries today, there are three tendencies we are very aware of:

Music today is both digital and live. Music is everywhere. And music is international.

Today, music is not confined to concert halls or headphones or your car stereo. Music is in games, in television shows, in movies, in festivals, on YouTube and snapchat – when we exercise, when we are shopping, eating out – it’s all around us.

Earlier today I attended an event here about “Nordic storytelling” – it encompasses all genres in film, television and virtual reality – and would any of these really work without music?

The music that surrounds us becomes, you could say, the soundtrack of our lives. That is why it is important to choose GOOD music, and music that makes us feel good.

Let’s take a closer look at the Nordic music scene.

For example; Roskilde Festival in Denmark. The first festival was held in 1971, only a few years after Woodstock. It is now one of the biggest music and cultural festivals in Europe. And with good reason. It is simply an outstanding and unique festival.

A few years ago, there was a lot of unease in the music industry due to streaming. And sure, streaming put the compact disc out of business – but, at the same time the live music scene flourished.

In fact, in Denmark, live music now accounts for more than half of the revenue in the music industry. And the industry is growing.

Why? Because no matter how digital our lives are, we need to be with and interact with other people. And culture provides a place to meet.

In the Nordic countries we are aware of our historical tradition. We treasure it. But we are not bound by it.

In fact, we are among the most digitalized societies in the world.  We constantly experiment and innovate, because we know that as small, open societies we are dependent on exchange with the rest of the world. We know that we constantly have to adapt and find new solutions – no matter if it is in infrastructure, and how we plan our cities, or in green tech and climate adaption, or in culture and music.

Nordic art is in high demand around the world and has become a strong brand: We have Nordic Noir cinema and television.

We have Scandinavian design.

We have Nordic Cuisine.

And we have Nordic Music…

The international hits of tomorrow could easily come from Denmark and the Nordic countries. And often they do.

Danish Music export alone accounts for almost 10 pct. of the annual turnover in the music business. And the business as a whole has almost doubled from 2012 to today.

Music is also on the move here in Austin where Roskilde Festival and the Nordic Music Export Offices are ready to teach you all what “Ja Ja Ja” really means!

I’ll help you a bit and it’s pretty simple: It means “yes, yes, yes”.

I grew up in Tasmania, Australia. That is about as far away from the Nordic countries you can get.

When I was told that Björn Ulvaeus of ABBA will be speaking at the SXSW conference this year it made me think of the satirically funny Australian movie Muriel’s Wedding. Perhaps some of you remember it. It was about a girl who dreamt of a big romantic wedding.  She lived in a regional backwater and in a toxic social environment - and she just loves ABBA. She seizes her opportunitiy to escape, – and ABBA’s music is part of her strength to escape. 

After ABBA came so many other names that I’ll just mention a few of here: The Sugarcubes, Aqua, Björk, Sigur Ros, Roxette, The Raveonettes and the super producer Max Martin. Today’s Nordic artists like Zara Larsson, Tove Lo - and from Denmark MØ, Lukas Graham, Volbeat and Trentemøller continue the Nordic music export.

I hope that in the days to come you will get many more tastes of the Nordics. And that you will be inspired to bring music and songs into your own innovative work in many new and different ways.

Thank you all for listening and to close - in the words of ABBA - ‘thank you for the music’.

Have a great festival!