Since 2009, I’ve been working in the music business. I kicked off in the Scandinavian music business in 2009 building a record label from scratch, growing artists and making international collaborations.
Releasing Lil Wayne in the Nordic territory, selling a platinum pop artist to Sony Music subsequently reaching national TV, radio and press coverage have been some of the results.
Furthermore, after that adventure, I saw a gap in the market for DIY musicians and independent record labels. Hence, I invented an innovative Nordic radio promotion service called Fono Pro, which I sold off years later.
Always curious, with an experiential approach and inherent urge to develop, communicate and execute, I am a Danish entrepreneur with an international gaze working with brands and organizations worldwide – with an emphasis on Northern Europe and Canada.
On the academic side, I hold a Master of Arts in Musicology specialising in sound branding – how music and sound communicate, build brands, and how they affect our memory and emotional state. As such, I give talks and lectures on sound branding and entrepreneurship communication my experience in the business and my academic findings. I have held this at Danish universities, at Canadian private companies, at Canada’s largest radio broadcast conglomerate, etc.
Thank you, Heine Nielsen, for amazing cultural heritage mediation.
Danish Cultural Heritage (danskkulturarv.dk)
Moving to Canada in 2018, I got involved in the Canadian music industry. Here, I am building local festivals in the Greater Toronto Area responsible for all music curation, and developing artist development programs.
Furthermore, I am building and executing concepts working at an international NGO focusing on music therapy, and how to expand the organization’s, and its record label’s vision and impact globally by growing a base of volunteers and putting forth new, meaningful music.
Could this project be viewed as another indication that artists are finally being motivated to speak with a united voice on pressing social and political issues after a long period of apathy? Is this the evolution of an artistic revolution?
“Canadian Artists Want You Too To Care About Sudan“
FYI Music News (Aug 12, 2019)
Being able to draw awareness to human rights and minority groups around the world is a fundamental extremely important part and duty of my work.
Heine Nielsen
Doing this via the power of music, and at a record label dedicated to minorities and human rights, is a perfect way of utilizing the forces and power of music – in a global music industry.
Volunteering, too, is an important part of my world. Being able to build and impact your community with enthusiastic people, is extremely giving! As such, I have been highly immersed in the global TEDx community – as Head of Event at Denmark’s largest TEDx event in Aarhus, Denmark (an event counting 800 delegates). Here I applied my knowledge on sound branding and created a custom sound logo and music curated playlist for this event.
A few years later, living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I joined the local TEDx-team as Director of Delegate Experience in creating a coherent experiential 2019 event – Canada’s largest TEDx event.
“Heine spoke about our tendency to think of only the “noisiest” moments as experiences. In the age of the experience economy, the loud, grandiose and spectacular moments are the ones to receive an acknowledgment. But part of the notion of rising together is appreciating the value that exists in every moment.”
Heine Nielsen, Director of Delegate Experience, TEDxToronto 2019
(Excerpt From Toronto-based digital agency Art & Science blog post ‘Rising Together: The Orpheum Travels to TEDxToronto 2019‘)
Enter the global COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and everybody needs to quickly adapt. At Canada’s largest South Asian festival, #BollywoodMonster Mashup, I am in charge of curating the full lineup including international headliners – which I negotiated virtual concerts in India to embed into our livestream – with our local production of Canadian acts in the Toronto area. Furthermore, pushing boundaries and normalizing South Asian arts and other marginalized communities, we integrated the local LGBTQ+ community on stage at this now virtual 1.5M views festival.
Curating the full local and international lineup in Canada, we bring in famous chart popping Bollywood artists with millions of views on Spotify, YouTube, a vast pool of hit songs and awards – directly from India whilst also introducing art from the local LGBTQ+ community on stage
Heine Nielsen (Programming Lead, #BollywoodMonster Mashup
Furthermore, as Executive Producer and Event Manager, I developed a concept for a virtual fundraiser in four episodes – with A-list talent, unique unplugged performances and candid interviews and live Q&As in order to set focus on mental health and raise funds for the Canadian-based NGO Make Music Matter which has its Healing in Harmony program in effect across the globe for marginalized artists and trauma survivors.
#UnpluggedTogether featured special performances by Grammy and JUNO award-winning artists like The Trews, The Standstills, Neil Sanderson (Three Days Grace), Cone McCaslin (Sum 41), Ian D’Sa (Billy Talent), Blackbird, Grievous Angels, with special appearances by Corey Hart, Gord Sinclair (The Tragically Hip), Steve Marriner (MonkeyJunk) and Jimmy Bowskill (The Sheepdogs) – including live Q&As – all in four separate episodes.
Please feel free to connect and let’s talk…
