5 months ago a bar opened in Jægersborggade 43, Copenhagen. 6 months prior to that I met Nicolai Schøler for the first time. He wanted to talk about possible collaborations between my label Tambourhinoceros and this bar he planned to open.
What met me was a determined mind with an extremely clear idea of what Musiksmag was going to be, how it should look (down to furniture and logo design) and who should benefit from this place; the independent music scene in Copenhagen. The level of enthusiasm combined with a rarely seen part ideological, part professional take on branding instantly convinced me that something special was going on (and that I wanted to be a part of it).
Things have progressed massively for Musiksmag since my first encounter with them. A dedicated crowd of regulars, impressive reviews and most recently Musikmag received the prestigious iBYEN “Café of the Year”-award… Pause for a moment, and think about how big an impact Musiksmag must have had to get this recognition. After all the place only existed the last 3 months of 2010.
I’ve had a talk with Nicolai, the founder and owner of Musiksmag. Later on his friend Tobias joined in and the two are now running and making a living from Musiksmag.
Describe the process of developing the Musiksmag concept
Basically, Musiksmag is a bar with a deep involvement in the music scene in Copenhagen. We sell vinyls by local artists and labels, and we set up small intimate concerts. The vinyl shop works this way: People can give us a vinyl and we’ll play it in the bar and after a few weeks we sell our copy to one of our customers. That way we have a constant flow of new music and we don’t have to deal with keeping stock on the same level as a normal record store would have to. Secondly we’ve also helped a few artists financially with their vinyl production – these are the only albums we sell more than a few units of.
We want to keep everything really simple. It makes sense for us on a aesthetic level as well as on a practical level. We want to focus on the music and we can’t do that if we make the concept include too much.
That’s why it’s only possible to get bottled beer, one type of sandwich, one type of coffee etc. etc. We get the sandwiches from Stig’s Oliven and the coffee from Ricco’s. It’s really a matter of concentrating on the things we’re good at and letting other people do what they’re good at.
I’ve built our interior myself, with some help from family and friends. There’s an obvious financial benefit and it was also just a fun challenge to take up. I guess a lot of what Musiksmag ended up being is due to the different processes of laying the foundation, the influence from the people who have helped me and as a result of practical obstacles and challenges.
What’s your relation to the Danish music scene, why the deep desire to support it?
I’ve studied Music at the university and been playing in bands since I was a kid. So music is a huge part of my life. When I stopped playing music myself I was playing in boring jam bands, which kind of killed my appetite for playing. So I guess I see Musiksmag as my chance to be involved with original music in some way or another.
Music is a language like no other and I couldn’t live without it. I really couldn’t care less about reviews and all of the media hype of new music. Music is a far more personal thing for me, experiencing music is dependent on time, place and one’s mood and the same songs can be beautiful and terrible depending on the context.
Our name, Musiksmag (Music Taste in English), doesn’t relate to a specific artistic direction or trend but to the subjective process of listening to music and as a tribute to those who have a sincere appetite for music. I’m a happy man if our guests have a memorable musical experiences at our place or with the vinyl’s they’ve bought from us.
On a more specific level we support the music scene by putting up shows and investing in vinyl productions. It gives us a great satisfaction being a part of the music scene and of a specific release from the very beginning.
After developing the concept for Musiksmag, you partnered up with Tobias. Please describe your individual roles and responsibilities and how this partnership has helped Musiksmag.
Tobias joined me about a month before we opened. We began talking about it last summer on Vaes Festival, which is a small festival Tobias organizes every summer. It was truly inspiring to see what he’d been able to do with such a small festival, and even more inspiring to see that almost half of the guests where performing on stage at some point of the weekend. The collectiveness of Vaes resembled so well with what I’d imagined for Musiksmag.
Since Tobias joined in relatively late I’d already made the company and the 40.000$ start-up loan is in my name. But in real-life we’re in a partnership. We have the same ideas and ambitions for Musiksmag, and instead of setting an hourly fee for our work, we just figured out what our minimal needs are, and all money made when our personal expenses are paid goes into Musiksmag.
Tobias has a way bigger network in the music scene, so it’s been a great help to have him in charge of putting up shows and providing general know-how to the music part of Musiksmag.
How does Musiksmag work as a business? What obstacles have you encountered in terms of making a living? What has made you succeed?
Before Musiksmag, I didn’t have any experience with running a bar. So all financial aspects are based on worst-case scenarios. Tobias gets a monthly salary and I just take out what I need to make a basic living, which never exceeds Tobias’ salary. It’s a very unstable industry, so I’ve just gotten used to a non-money-burning lifestyle.
By far the largest monthly expense is salaries. So it’s a very conscious decision to have a minimalistic menu. We’ve planned the menu so it’s possible to run the bar by only one person at a time. We couldn’t do so if we had a fancy coffee machine, draft beer or ten different meals on the menu.
That said, Tobias and I would probably prefer a bottle of beer over a glass – it’s another example of how the process and the conditions we must deal with has helped shape the identity of Musiksmag.
The community in the street is also a huge part of Musiksmag. The rent is pretty low which enables young entrepreneurs to start really cool shops – it makes the street extremely vibrant – and we’re all helping each other out in every way we can.
Entering Musiksmag my impression is that every single customer feels at home in the relaxed atmosphere. Has that been a focus point and if so, what have you done to make Musiksmag such a gathering point?
It might seem more intentional than it really is. On the one hand we of course want people to feel relaxed here, having a fireplace was something we wanted from the beginning (the sound of wood burning is wonderful) but on the other hand the carpet on the floor was a suggestion from a guy we’d hired to lay a vinyl floor that turned out to be way too expensive for us. So it wasn’t intentional but now it’s hard to image the place without it, and we also benefit acoustically from it when we have concerts here.
In general I’ve come to realize that the very uncomplicated formula of Musiksmag make each ingredient stand out and has a real value instead of getting lost in the midst of a huge, multifaceted structure.
Musiksmag Cafe
Jægersborggade 43,
2200 Copenhagen N
Monday – Wednesday 1pm – 11pm
Thursday – Saturday 1pm – 01am
Sunday closed
Photo credits: Kristoffer Rom
