Meet The Danish Music Bizz: Rasmus Damsholt, Artist Manager at ATC Management

SPOT is much more than concerts: Denmark has also got significant agents in various parts in the music business, and while we are counting down to the festival, we aim to present some of the people you can meet at SPOT in brief Q&As.

This time it is Rasmus Damsholt, Artist Manager, ATC Management (management, agency)

What do you work with?

Management

What is your business background?

Bachelor in Music Management, 2016 (Rhythmic Music Conservatorium, Copenhagen).

What are the most important, exciting, well known, or interesting things in your portfolio?

I’m the manager of Chinah, Jada and Lowly. I represent ATC Management and the artist roster in the Nordics.

What is the most important thing to happen to Danish music in the last five years?

When it comes to positioning and music export, it’s definitely the international success stories like MØ, Lukas Graham and Iceage that have opened doors for Danish music.

I see a change in how music from Denmark (and Norway) are being measured.

In general, arts and design in all forms from Scandinavia are hotter now than ever before.

What are the most important questions or pressing issues in the music business right now?

The industry is beginning to realise that music streaming is working, but instead of seeing the perspective in developing artists over time, we tend to handle it like the booming CD market. Going for fast hits, big numbers and artists that die out quickly because of the urge to show rapid growth.
I believe that our new music platforms will reward true and credible artists, because fans will stream and pay for the music forever, whereas one-hit wonders disappear promptly. That’s why we should now work on finding real talent and give them the tools to develop into unique artists in their own rights.

Which international business people and branches would you like to meet at SPOT this year?

Usually I’ll have a scroll through the delegate list and I usually end up meeting industry people from the US and the UK. In fact the good thing about Spot Festival is that you can’t avoid meeting a bunch of new interesting people through good music and common friends.

What are you going to do at SPOT/what are your goals for this year’s SPOT?

I have had artists playing the festival for the last six years, so it’s the same drill. I love it though, it feels like coming home. It’s a nice mixture of having a good time, meeting new people, catching up with people, seeing a lot of concerts and a bit of selling of course.

This year I have Jada on the bill, which I’m very excited for. She played a non-official showcase last year in a pretty trashed place, so it will be very good to see her and the band on a bigger stage this year. She’s one of the best Danish live artists I ever seen – I’d describe her as a combination of true intensity and perfect vocal delivery.

Besides your own artists, which ones are you looking forward to seeing at SPOT this year?

Barselona

It doesn’t really make sense for me to work with artists singing in Danish, but if I should one day, I’d love it to be Barselona.

Irrelevantbitch101

I had a very intense experience watching this irrelevant bitch (self-proclaimed, mind you!) perform in April in Copenhagen. It was nothing like what I had expected or had ever seen before.

Gents 

Always been fanboying these guys. They write alternative pop songs just the way I like it.

Yangze

I think what Yangze does is quite unique. Capturing odd sounds and samples, combining that with very pitched vocals. The impressive part is that the end result of this elixir is CATCHY art pop!

Other artist I’d recommend: 

Altin Gün, Astrid Sonne, Asbjørn, Collider, De Underjordiske, Molina, Pardans, and Sassy009.