Vísbending – Hver uppsker af fjárfestingu okkar í tónlist?

In 2025, I wrote for Icelandic business publication Vísbending about the economics of Iceland's music industry — and what happens to the value created by decades of public investment once Icelandic artists reach the international market.

Using public data on nine of Iceland's largest music-export projects, I estimated that streaming and live activity alone generated at least ISK 22 billion in annual turnover — while much of the professional infrastructure surrounding those careers remained outside Iceland.

The piece argues for investing not only in the creation of Icelandic music, but in the management, business and professional infrastructure required to retain more of the value it creates.

„Það er ekki meiri áhætta að fjárfesta í tónlist heldur en öðru hugviti.“

“Investing in music is no riskier than investing in other forms of intellectual property.”

– Hrefna Helgadóttir, Vísbending

Read: Hver uppsker af fjárfestingu okkar í tónlist? — Vísbending, 21 March 2025