Finnishing off the horns with a mighty blow

Dusted Magazine has published a very informative article on the Finnish free-jazz label TUM Records. (Dusted just keeps getting better every week I read it.) This is my first introduction to the label, so every last artist on the roster is foreign to me except sax player John Tchicai and trumpeter Ahmed Abdullah, the latter who's not Finnish and has worked with Steve Reid, Billy Bang, Sun Ra, and just a mess of great musicians since the '70s. In fact, my knowledge of Scandanavian free-jazz would be practically null without the Dutch drummer Han Bennink.

However, what struck me most about the article was the following:
The key, then, is a business perspective as strong as the aesthetic one. In addition to the usual funds that support Finnish music – the Foundation for Finnish Music and the Finnish Music Promotion Center – the White & Case lawyer has procured support for some of his albums from Finnish corporations such the telephone operator Sonera, and the paper manufacturer UPM Kymmene. Other Euro labels, such as HatHut, have enjoyed similar corporate sponsorship.
It's refreshing that the Finnish have organizations that fund the jazz arts so generously and that corporations support it as well. I'm not saying Matthew Shipp or someone like that should seek endorsements from Coca Cola, but labels and artists could work with businesses that appreciate and respect the artform, and the artists still maintain their freedom.

Cadence stocks TUM.

Oh, if anybody actually reads this, please comment. I'd love to get conversation going about these issues.