Music Business Worldwide
January 25, 2021
It started, as so many of these stories do, on pint three, in the pub. Two decades ago, Mark Lewis and Martin Toher were growing tired of their day jobs as major record company A&Rs.
Adding to the ever-present precariousness of their careers was the industry consolidation swirling around them: Lewis’s home of London Records had been recently acquired by Warner Music Group, while Toher’s employer, A&M, had been rolled up into Mercury Records.
“A lot of drink was going down between the two of us at that time, accompanied by a lot of pub talk,” says Lewis today. “It was like: so-and-so’s going to buy so-and-so, we can see where everything’s headed, and we’re powerless. This is not what we want for ourselves. What about starting our own label?”
Anders Bagge & Arnthor Birgisson
Arnthor Birgisson and Anders Bagge (right).
Richard Buskin talks with two of Sweden s hottest writer‑producers about their ongoing work as part of the Murlyn Music Group, including recent hit recordings by Jennifer Lopez, Samantha Mumba and Jessica Simpson.
In a forest just north of Stockholm, overlooking one of the city s many sea inlets, is Vantorp, a traditional wooden villa which once housed the mistress of a 19th‑century Swedish king. Wheareas said monarch would simply row across the bay whenever he felt the urge, today Vantorp is the venue for action‑packed activities of another kind: it serves as the headquarters of the Murlyn Music Group, an all‑encompassing operation with a fast‑growing reputation for turning out the hits. Founded in January 1998 by Christian Wahlberg and Anders Bagge, Murlyn boasts an in‑house setup of four studios, a publishing division, and a stable of producers that includes Bagge, Arnthor Birgisson, Christ