This paper delves into the transformative journey of Iceland's music scene, unveiling the emergence and evolution of a professionalised music industry. During 2016 fieldwork, respondents frequently noted the absence of a "music industry" in Iceland, highlighting a scarcity of vital industry roles such as agents, managers, promoters, publishers, and specialised music lawyers—a point substantiated by existing research (Hall, 2019; Thoroddsen, 2019). Consequently, as local musicians achieved international recognition, they sought services from professionals outside Iceland, resulting in industry knowledge gaps and financial setbacks. At the core of this dynamic is the enduring DIY ethos in the music scene, where artists traditionally assumed diverse roles independently (Prior, 2014; Widiger 2019). Recent fieldwork reveals significant strides towards professionalisation, with specialised music companies emerging in publishing, management, and bookings. Some artists retain their managers even after international acclaim, emphasising the maturation of the industry side of the music scene. Recognising the need for education and support, state-sponsored institutions and music societies proactively initiate programmes to nurture industry expertise. This shift is accompanied by a clear generational change in attitudes, as the younger generation increasingly embraces the business side of music. There is now less apprehension towards the "industry," marking a departure from past sentiments. While these developments signify progress, caution prevails among some musicians, concerned about potential impacts on the free-spirited aesthetics, DIY ethos, and the unique character of the music scene. This study contributes valuable insights into the delicate balance between professionalisation and preserving the distinctive qualities defining Iceland's music scene.

This paper considers the international positioning of the Iceland Airwaves showcase festival and conference event, specifically in a greater European context. On one hand, Airwaves brands itself locally in relation to Reykjavík City Center and the nation (it is named Iceland Airwaves, after all). Icelandic acts, mostly from the capital region, dominate the event's lineup and its venues are strewn across the downtown area, forcing concertgoers to canvas the city as they seek out shows. On the other hand, Airwaves is part of a larger network of European festivals and draws significant international participation at both the music festival and industry conference, providing pivotal opportunities for networking by participants. Building on the festival scholarship of Holt (2020) and Ahlers (2021) and the cultural policy work of Boix et al (2015) and Hesmondhalgh (2019), this paper ultimately argues for the event to also be understood as a European event, unpacking its "Europeanness" in three ways. First, it explores the participation of festival artists and conference delegates from other European nations, particularly those central to European institutional identity (e.g., Brussels, London, Amsterdam, and Berlin) to understand the balance between Airwaves' local and international identities. Second, it considers similarities and differences between Airwaves and peer events such as Eurosonic (Groningen) and Reeperbahn (Hamburg) to determine functional positioning as a European event. Lastly, it considers how Icelandic musicians and industry professionals participate in European cultural networks such as Eurosonic Exchange and the European Festivals Association, showing Airwaves' international reach eastward across the Atlantic.

This paper examines the art of music-making and musicking for media in Iceland as both musical practice and organizing activity. Composers, musicians, and industry participants simultaneously enable this in a de-facto cooperative yet competitive collective. The socially-centered nature of musical practice and consumption (Small 1998, DeNora 2000, Turino 2008) is central to this understanding. For example, these composers retain their ability to be Icelandic (by nationality) or be known as Icelandic (irrespective of ethnicity in certain situations), regardless of where musical work occurs. Meanwhile, financial and relational investment supports Iceland as a geographic home. Many composers no longer need to travel or live abroad for their work to resonate within the networks of filmmaking. This duality is enabled by the increasing acceptance of remote work in the film industry (Chattah 2024, Palmer et al 2001). Using ethnographic fieldwork alongside contemporary reporting as evidence, the paper argues that Icelandic contemporary composers and popular musicians writing for the screen have grown not just an industry at home, but a sense of self embraced along the spectrum of enactors and generators of this music. This constructive and repetitive “supraorganization” (Friedland and Alford 1991) generates institutional logics (understandings) across organizations, businesses, and individuals. Herein, these institutional logics reinforce a cross-Atlantic reception of contemporary Icelandic popular and classical music for the screen via a dualistic structure: importing talent and knowledge to Iceland to grow a homeland industry and exporting composition and talent to the traditional European and American centers of film and television production.

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