Red Light Management and Swedish company The Very Good have launched a joint venture, Red Light Management Scandinavia.
The new company will be based in Stockholm, Sweden.
It will be headed by Red Light Management UK founder James Sandom and The Very Good founder and CEO Jakob Emtestam.
Red Light Management Scandinavia is, the company says, the first international artist management company to enter the Scandinavian market.
The company says its roster includes Swedish Grammy-nominated artists such as Olga Myko, Sunnan, and Augustine.
Olga Myko is signed to Atlantic Records UK.
The team brings together former TEN Music Group head of A&R Ali Vedadi and former Universal Sweden Senior Marketing Manager Love Appelgren with The Very Good‘s GM Manne Björkman and Emtestam.
“Today’s industry demands more from managers than ever before.”
Jakob Emtestam, The Very Good
They will work with Sandom and his London-based team, including Danish artist and producer manager Alexandra Mills and Red Light UK managing director Lisa Ward, as well as the global Red Light Management network.
“Scandinavia has over-indexed creatively for decades, and we see a clear opportunity to strengthen the region’s management community,” said James Sandom, Red Light Management. “Live, publishing and recorded music companies already have established structures, but artist management has not developed in the same way until now.
“We want to build an ecosystem that supports patient artist development and creates bridges for Scandinavian artists to export internationally wherever possible.”
“Scandinavia has over-indexed creatively for decades, and we see a clear opportunity to strengthen the region’s management community.”
James Sandom, Red Light Management
“Partnering with Red Light Management to establish this hub allows us to bring international expertise and much-needed stability to the Scandinavian management scene,” said Jakob Emtestam, founder and CEO of The Very Good. “Today’s industry demands more from managers than ever before.
“By fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing over working in silos, we are creating a foundation essential for building and sustaining long-term careers…”
Ali Vedadi was named lead A&R at TEN Music Group‘s streaming imprint Tenacity in 2017, as previously reported by MBW.
Lisa Ward joined Red Light Management in London in 2016, after a decade at Universal Music Group.
Red Light Management‘s roster has included Grammy winners such as Chris Stapleton and Alabama Shakes.
Coran Capshaw founded Red Light Management in 1991 in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the company describes itself as the largest independent music management company in the world.
Its UK operation launched in 2012, with a roster that has since included Kaiser Chiefs, The Vaccines, and Bastille.
In 2022, Firebird Music Holdings acquired a minority stake in Red Light, with Capshaw continuing to lead the company.
Red Light has continued to expand in recent years, forming a strategic alliance with Warner Music in Japan in 2024 and striking a partnership with Ledgin Management last year.Music Business Worldwide