Riku Salomaa is a significant influencer in the Finnish music business and music export industry. He serves as CEO and partner in two key companies in the field: music publishing company Nordic Music Partners and production company Fried Music.
Helsinki-based Fried Music, established in 2002, is a music production house representing Finland’s top producers and mixing engineers. The company has produced award-winning music for both domestic and international artists (including Jenni Vartiainen, JVG, Anna Puu, Glockenbach) as well as for films, commercials, and games (including Alan Wake II, Tom of Finland).
Nordic Music Partners is a music publishing company focusing on both domestic and international markets. The company was co-founded by Finland’s most internationally successful songwriter Teemu Brunila and one of Finnish music history’s most significant producers, Jukka Immonen. The company’s roster includes writers such as Jurek Reunamäki, Joona “Skywalk” Pietikäinen, Sara Forsberg, Keira Lundström, and Jussi “Costee” Tiainen. Recent hits by the company’s writers include “GGUM” (Yeonjun), “Anthem” (Glockenbach), and “Rebel Hearts” (IVE).
“Music rights and their intelligent management are key to successful international music business,” Salomaa summarizes. His expertise is also reflected in significant positions of trust: he serves on the boards of Teosto ry and the Finnish Music Publishers Association.
Before his current roles, Salomaa led the internationalization operations at Music Finland. In Media Minds’ training sessions, he shares his expertise on music industry revenue models, trends, and internationalization. “Riku’s expertise is an invaluable part of our training. Fried Music’s portfolio extends from hits to film music, TV series, commercials, and the gaming industry – such as Remedy’s Alan Wake game. The entire creative industry has much to learn from the music business: how the industry managed to turn the digital transformation into a growth engine and how rights are intelligently managed in a global operating environment,” says Media Minds founder Hanna Vuorinen.
