Norwegian independent record labels Propeller Recordings, Indie Recordings, and 777 Music are merging to create a brand new label called Sounds Like Gold that will be led by Norwegian industry veteran Helge Westbye, and formed as part of a partnership with Virgin Music Group.
The merger brings together a roster of artists such as boy pablo, Highasakite, Gåte and Jan Eggum.
Additionally, the new merged entity will take over operations of the record label Grappa, along with their affiliates, and Grappa’s founder, Helge Westbye, has officially joined Sounds Like Gold as their chairman.
“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,” Westbye said of the new company.
Erlend Gjerde, Chairperson of independent label association FONO, has been named Sounds Like Gold’s General Manager as well. 777 Music founders and former heads of Virgin Music Group’s Nordic operation Kristine Bjørnstad and Tim Dunham join forces on the management side.
“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,” Gjerde.
“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.”
“This is a tremendous partnership for us to be able to support real growth and innovation in the independent recording community in Norway” Chris Haaland, Country Manager Norway, Virgin Music Group added. “We at Virgin Music Group believe that Sounds Like Gold has the potential to be a real game changer in this market.”
“This group of labels represent a powerhouse creative team of executives and artists in a very important region of the world” Nick Roden Co-President of Virgin Music Group Europe added. “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.”
