LINGONPERRY-BLOGI

Why Lingonperry?

I've been in the music business since the last millennium, in many different roles, but most of my life has been on the stage, as a line musician, in the back row, a reliable mainstay of bands of all sizes.

I have explored a wide range of genres from Finnish pop to heavy metal, from old dance music to Argentinian tango, from chansons to free improvisation, from jazz to classical and back again. I toured countries and counties, sometimes accompanying choirs as a member of a folk music trio, sometimes as a plucker in a rock group or as an official musician in a symphony orchestra.

Workplaces ranged from studios to large concert halls and from theatres to small bars. And in between, of course, to rehearsal booths of different sizes and smells.

On the side, I did everything possible related to the industry, from bus driver to ticket seller, from gig seller to roustabout, from mixer to producer and arranger.

On that journey, I have seen and experienced a lot, met incredible musicians, songwriters, composers, arrangers and of course enthusiastic members of the audience, sometimes in large numbers, sometimes counting on the fingers of one hand.

Most of my travels were spent making music with relatively unknown acts, so there wasn't always the glamour of the big world. But the music was good, excellent in general, whatever the genre, and so were the bands, whether they were a duo or a big orchestra.

The journey has not always been a bed of roses, sometimes it was a feast... and sometimes not. Admittedly, sometimes we had doubts about the meaningfulness of the job, when our excellent line-up didn't attract the attention of promoters or radio stations. Nor did the gigs cross the news threshold to attract more than a handful of paying audience, even in the small hall of a block tavern. Because they didn't know we were there. No radio play other than the occasional local radio flash at best, no huge streaming numbers on any platform. And the same situation with every line-up, regardless of genre. And the music was excellent anyway.

And we weren't the only ones, a huge number of top musicians and new musicians were and still are facing similar challenges. So could something be done about it?

How can we somehow make it easier for them to scramble around in that field, where so many little artists are scrambling around in their own little bubble? The big ones will continue to be big, we won't change that, but could we even the playing field a little between the big global giants and the small domestic grassroots? Even a little? Could we make it even a little fairer and more equitable? Even a small equalisation can be quite large for a small player in the end.

But how? What if we tried it together? Not alone, but together. Whatever the genre, we all face the same challenges. Would it be possible to bring together a group of music makers, listeners and supporters united by a passion to do their own thing, a desire to make the industry a little fairer and more equitable for all? And a belief that it can be done. It's not easy, but the status quo is no picnic either. It might be worth a try, right?

Many of my ideas have been rejected along the way with comments like "Petri, remember that we're not in Helsinki now." Or if the idea was in Helsinki, the comment might have been "Petri, remember that we are now in Finland." Yes, we are, and that's why you should try harder!

But I still believe that something can change, that by working together we can create better opportunities to bring more new musicians to more listeners. But it has to be done together, it is unlikely to be done alone.

This is why Lingonperry has been launched.

I have had the pleasure of being involved in this project from the very beginning and I would like to thank our whole team, who work incredibly hard every day to build a new home for new music. A fairer, more equitable one, for every music maker.

And of course I want to thank all the artists and listeners who have already adopted Lingonperry. Without you there would be no Lingonperry.