5 Questions with Riku Salomaa of Music Finland

The newly founded Music Finland, the unification of Music Export Finland and the Finnish Music Information Fimic, is setting its sights firmly on the UK market.

UK is the music industry's most important market place in Europe – and Music Finland's objective is to increase the export volumes of Finnish music and to promote its visibility in the UK and other target markets influenced by the British market.

Music Finland is creating and managing a wide variety of services, marketing programmes, events, networking opportunities, training, consultancy, support, research, information and funding programmes with the aim to maximise opportunities for Finnish artists and music companies, and increase its export revenue.

The first stage in the process has been developing tools for Finnish artists by inviting UK music industry experts to hold workshops in Finland focusing on PR, media and record company know-how.

At the London end the focus has been on market research and building networks along with providing support for chosen Finnish artists. Music Finland's current artists include platinum-selling Finnish songwriter Jukka Immonen who is now working with a British record company. Also under the Music Finland's umbrella are the glam-metal group Reckless Love who is going to be touring the UK for the whole of October and the Berlin-based, kraut-electro trio, K-X-P.

We talked with Riku Salomaa, the project manager of Music Finland who is sharing his time between Helsinki and London. Watch the video here.