This article examines the national-international relationship of recent music discourses in Finland. Since 2000, Finnish popular music has gained notable recognition at the international level. Some acts (e.g. HIM, Children of Bodom and Apocalyptica) have even succeeded in the US market, which traditionally has been considered important for music performers. This export boom has had a significant role in the legitimization of rock music, yet it has revealed how contemporary national cultures are produced in a context of popular culture in which distinctiveness often is sought globally. Tracing the changes in Finnish music exports and using the media discourse of metal music as an example, this article argues that international fame not only supports the commercial prosperity and institutional production of Finnish popular music, but also appears as a form of modern nation-building.
Adressit.com (2006) 'Boycott the "7-päivää" Magazine'. [Accessed 22 January 2009: http://www.adressit.com/english/lordi]
2.
Biddle, I. and V. Knights (2007) 'Introduction. National Popular Musics: Betwixt and Beyond the Local and the Global', in 1. Biddle and V. Knights (eds) Music, National Identity and the Politics of Location. Between the Global and the Local, pp. 1-15. Aldershot: Ashgate .
3.
Connell, J. and C. Gibson (2003) Sound Tracks. Popular Music, Identity and Place . London: Routledge.
4.
Erola, J. (2002) 'Rockista tuli oikea bisnes' ['Rock Became True Business'], Talouselämä (8 Nov.). [Accessed 22 January 2009: http://www.talouselämä.fi]
5.
Frith, S. (2002) 'Fragments of a Sociology of Rock Criticism', in S. Jones (ed.) Pop Music and the Press, pp. 235-46. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
6.
Frith, S. (2004) 'Does British Music Still Matter? A Reflection on the Changing Status of British Popular Music in the Global Music Market' , European Journal of Cultural Studies7(1): 43-58.
7.
Gramsci, A. (1992) Prison Notebooks (ed. J.A. Buttigieg). New York: Columbia University Press.
8.
Grenier, L. (2006) 'Circolazione, valorizzazione e localizzazione della musica global pop: il caso di Céline Dion' ['Circulation, Valorization and Localization of Global Pop Music: The Case of Celine Dion), in J.-J. Nattiez (ed.) Enciclopedia della Musica Einaudi [Einaudi Encyclopaedia of Music], Vol. 5, pp. 199-224. Turin: Einaudi.
Järvinen, E. (2006) 'Raskasta' ['Heavy'], Suomen Kuvalehti (12 May): 52.
11.
Kahn-Harris, K. (2007) Extreme Metal. Music and Culture on the Edge. Oxford: Berg.
12.
Koivunen, A. and M. Lehtonen (2005) '"Joskus on kiva olla vähemmän aikuinen". Kulttuurisen määrittelyvallan siirtymät ja julkisen puhuttelun areenat' ['"Sometimes it's Great to be Less Adult". Dislocations of Cultural Power and Arenas of Public Address'], Tiedotustutkimus28(2): 4-27.
13.
Laing, D. (1992) '"Sadeness", Scorpions and Single Markets: National and Transnational Trends in European Popular Music', Popular Music11(2): 127-40.
14.
Larkey, E. (1993) Pungent Sounds. Constructing Identity with Popular Music in Austria. New York: Peter Lang.
15.
Mäkelä, J. (2007) 'Finnkampen. Finland's Envy for Swedish Pop Music Success in the 1990s', in K. Kärki, K. Kallioniemi, J. Mäkelä and H. Salmi (eds) History of Stardom Reconsidered, pp. 110-16. Turku: International Institute for Popular Culture. [Available at: http://npc.utu.fi/reconsidered/]
16.
Mäkelä, J. (2008) 'State of Rock. History of Cultural Policy and Music Export in Finland', Popular Music27(2): 257-69.
17.
Mattila, I. (2005) 'Finnish Rock's Move Out into the World', Finnish Music Quarterly4: 16-20.
18.
Musex (2006) 'Finnish Opening Night at Midem: A Stellar Success for Finnish Artists and Companies', press release. [Accessed 31 January 2006: http://musex.fi]
19.
Musex (2008) 'Total Market Value and Structure of Finnish Music Exports in 2007'. [Accessed 30 November 2008: http://musex.fi]
20.
Nightwish (2005) 'Open Letter to Tarja'. [Accessed 22 May 2008: http://www.nightwish.com/en/article/6]
21.
Olkkonen, T. (2008) 'Populaarikulttuuri: uudistuva luonnonvara' ['Popular Culture: The Reborn Natural Resource'], in K. Häggman (ed.) Suomalaisen arjen historia 4. Hyvinvoinnin Suomi [The History of Finnish Everyday Life 4: Welfarirag Finland, pp. 198-215. Helsinki: Weilin+Göös.
22.
Raivio, J. (2005) 'Soittoa vai sellunkeittoa' ['Strumming or Pulping'] , Suomen Kuvalehti (11 Feb.): 18.
23.
Regev, M. and E. Seroussi (2004) Popular Music and National Culture in Israel. Berkeley : University of California Press.
24.
Salmi, H. (2002) Vuosisadan lapset. 1800-luvun kulttuurihistoria [Children of a Century. Cultural History of the Nineteenth Century]. Turku: Turun yliopiston historian laitos .
25.
Salo, I. (2006) 'Rock on parasta bisnestä' ['Rock Is the Best Business'] , Talouselämä (27 Oct.). [Accessed 12 June 2007: http://www.talouselämä.fi]
26.
Stokes, M. (1994) 'Introduction: Ethnicity, Identity and Music', in M. Stokes (ed.) Ethnicity, Identity and Music. The Musical Construction of Place, pp. 1-27. Oxford : Berg.
27.
Storey, J. (2003) Inventing Popular Culture. Oxford: Blackwell.
28.
Turunen, T. (2005) 'Tarja Turunen Crying at Press Conference', YouTube. [Accessed 22 January 2009: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYko9mxUJeY]
29.
Toynbee, J. (2002) 'Mainstreaming: From Hegemonic Centre to Global Networks', in D. Hesmondhalgh and K. Negus (eds) Popular Music Studies, pp. 149-63. London: Arnold.
30.
Turner, G. (2004) Understanding Celebrity. London : Sage.
31.
Ukkola, J. (1985) 'Kiihko ja kohmelo' ['Mania and Hangover'], Suomen Kuvalehti (18 Jan.): 8.
32.
von Bagh, P. and Hakasalo, I. (1986) Iskelmän kultainen kirja [The Golden Book of Finnish Entertainment Music]. Helsinki: Otava.
33.
Weinstein, D. (2000) Heavy Metal. The Music and its Culture (rev. ed.) . New York: Da Capo Press.
