Wise Music Group strikes deal with writers of Icelandic Band Sigur Ros

24 July 2025 - Press release

Chester Music Limited, part of Wise Music Group has entered into an agreement with the writers of Sigur Rós, to create and publish arrangements, adaptations, new versions and editions of the Icelandic band’s iconic songs, and new classical works.

On behalf of the band members Kjartan Sveinsson, Jón Þór Birgisson, Georg Hólm and Orri Dyrasson, their manager Dean O’Connor at Big Dipper Productions Ltd says, “We knew that Marcus [Wise], Dirk [Lange] and Gill [Graham] were fans of the band long before we first spoke about working together. This really helped our negotiations because the ambitious ideas being discussed have always seemed wholly authentic. It’s just much easier to work with people who already see the possibilities”.

Composer, musician and performer Kjartan Sveinsson has also signed a deal with Chester Music, for his future classical works. The catalogue includes his opera Der Klang der Offenbarung des Göttlichen (The Explosive Sonics of Divinity). Sveinsson collaborated with artist Ragnar Kjartansson to conceive a work which was commissioned by and originally performed in Volksbühne am Rosa-Luxemburg Platz, Berlin. The opera was directed by Kjartansson, who painted theatrical sets for separate acts, each rooted in German romantic clichés. There were no performers on the stage, just the sets, creating a non-narrative of pure-hearted banality, with the choir and orchestra performing from the orchestral pit. Der Klang is an opera without divas. The piece was inspired by World Light (1937-1940) by Icelandic Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness (1902-1998), a book that revolves around the incurable longing for beauty and its catastrophic consequences.  

“Sigur Rós are one of the rare, completely original bands of our time and there is enormous potential for what we can do with their music in partnership with our creative team. We will be attempting some groundbreaking work together to bring their music to entirely new markets”, says Marcus Wise, CEO of Wise Music Group. “We are also pleased to collaborate with Kjartan, building on the achievements of his opera Der Klang, and assisting him in his continued success in classical music.”