A new record store in central Oslo? Sure. Vegard Landaas is going against the grain, and is investing in a physical classic record store.
/ 16/02/2016 / codexText: Kai Lofthus, photo/video: TONO
They say the best way to become a millionaire in the music industry is to start as a billionaire, but it's also possible to take a disruptive approach to running a business. Although Vegard Landaas and his partners at record label Lawo have faced some head-scratching, they didn't start the retail division out of naivety or lack of business experience. The company has grown from releasing two records in 2008 to 26 releases last year. The idea to start a retail store was developed three years ago, when Norsk Musikforlag had to throw in the towel.
We had a meeting with the staff there about getting something done together, but it didn't work out due to lack of funding. Then things have happened in the meantime, explains Landaas.
In a meeting with the Oslo Philharmonic, Lawo was offered to rent part of their premises at Haakon VIIs gate 2, well located near potential, well-off customers at Aker Brygge and the surrounding area. They accepted, and thus also gained the advantage of being in the line of sight of audiences on their way to events at the Oslo Concert Hall. Another advantage is that they manage profitability by not being open 24/7, while also having an online store. So far so good.
– We won't get rich from it, but it's getting around, says Landaas.
The premises are space-efficient, with no trace of leftover stock, hand-me-downs and other eager inventions from the old days to create “thrills in the store”. A piano stands decoratively in a corner, and is used when performers and composers want to create buzz about their releases. The pianist and professor Liv Glaser was recently among them. The very best thing, which publishers could only dream of before, is that all Norwegian classical record companies’ releases – new and old – are represented on the shelves with at least one copy. The profile is deliberately heavy on Norwegian composers and performers, helped along by local players such as Simax, Aurora and 2L. They have chosen not to carry sheet music. The store has some vinyl, but it is not something Landaas wants to expand with, due to sound quality concerns.
– There are almost no good record cutters left, and SACD provides higher quality than an LP will ever provide, he says.
The store is designed to give economic life to innovation in music, specifically through the conscious use of exposure methods and promotional reviews.
– We sell a surprising amount of new music with living composers, he explains, and adds: – The exhibition wall you see when you enter the store is mostly just Norwegian releases, and we have placed Crane next to Beethoven, and Trond Kverno side by side with Grieg, Sibelius and Haydn.
Streaming services like Spotify and Tidal, on the other hand, he considers to be something that does not benefit classical music:
– The services and search engines are built for a completely different audience. If I listen to a Mahler symphony, it doesn't go on repeat later. When I have heard it, it may be the only time that week or month. The system is completely wrong and there is no economy from it.
The operations of the record company continue in parallel with the store operations. At the time of writing, they are working with Kjell Habbestad to record all of his choral works. This will be Lawo's second album with Habbestad as the sole composer. On that project, they work closely and integratedly with him – on everything from financing to artistic choices and recording, but formally without being a music publisher for him or other composers. Another project is recordings of all of Ketil Hvoslef's chamber music works, which will eventually amount to nine CDs. The composer will also be closely involved in the recordings there.
– We have great respect for the composers and try to follow them to the letter, says Landaas.
In running the record label and distributing domestically and internationally, they have had great help from veteran Reidar Mikalsen, known from Mudi and Naxos. It advertises regularly in magazines such as Gramophone and BBC Music Magazine, and distributes to markets such as Japan, the USA, England and Germany through the Dutch New Arts International. Last year, their 26 releases received a whopping 220 reviews in the press, and one of their releases – a CD with organist Magne Draagen – sold around 600 copies in the Netherlands alone.