In Finland, Kimmo Valtanen spoke about his dismissals from Sony and Universal Music — YLE News
In Finland, former Sony Music and Universal Music CEO Kimmo Valtanen spoke about two dismissals from executive positions in the recording industry. His work at Sony ended in 2012 and at Universal Music in 2024. He described his experience in the book Perjantai 13. päivä, written by journalist and communications consultant Anna Laine, YLE News reports.
The title of the book refers to the day Valtanen was first dismissed from Sony. At the time, he was having breakfast at the Kämp hotel in Helsinki, while company employees at the office were being introduced to the new management. A representative of Sony’s European management informed Valtanen that his work was ending. After that, he was unable to meet with his subordinates and had to collect his personal belongings from the office when no other employees were present.
Lordi and Cheek’s rejection
Valtanen suggested that the band Lordi take part in Finland’s Eurovision selection. In 2006, Lordi won the contest in Athens, securing Finland its only Eurovision victory. According to Valtanen, after that success he overestimated his own career prospects.
Leading Sony from 2004 to 2012, Valtanen worked during a transformation of the music market: compact disc sales were falling, while the digital market had not yet become sufficiently established. According to him, because the company needed to deliver financial results, it ended cooperation with artists who did not achieve commercial success.
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Among those performers was rapper Cheek, whose Sony contract was not renewed. Valtanen explained this by the market situation at the time: the artist had an audience, but buyers were not purchasing compact discs that were expensive to produce. In 2007, Cheek moved to Rähinä Records, and the following year his breakthrough came with the song Liekeissä.
Work at Universal Music
After being dismissed from Sony, Valtanen became Universal Music’s marketing director in 2013, and a few years later he took charge of the company’s Finnish and Baltic markets. He noted that streaming services helped the music industry emerge from its deepest crisis and that Finnish music experienced a period of growth.
In Valtanen’s assessment, revenue from Finnish music stopped growing in the current decade. After Universal Music Group went public in 2021, owners’ expectations changed, and decision-making gradually shifted to Sweden and Los Angeles. Despite the profitability of the business in Finland, he was also dismissed from Universal Music.
Valtanen also drew attention to the pressure faced by modern musicians due to constant tracking of streaming numbers and the need to be active on social media. He advised people planning a career in music that, if they make such a choice, they should devote themselves fully to it.
