Spekti: How making friends laugh became a career
Rap artist Spekti (Samuli Huhtala) became interested in American rap while still in upper secondary school, even though rap was a very marginal genre in Finland at the time. Around the same period, in the mid‑1990s, Huhtala met another “rap enthusiast” in the corridors of his school: Markus Wennerström, known by the artist name Wretch. Together, they began making music.
“We made beats using tracker software and rapped over them, at first, of course, in English. I soon realised that expressing yourself in a foreign language is significantly more limited than in Finnish. At first, I started freestyling in Finnish at parties just to make my friends laugh,” Huhtala says.
After completing his military service, Huhtala considered launching a Finnish‑language solo career, but instead went on to form a Finnish‑language rap group called Trilogia together with Wretch. A third member soon joined the group: Jussi Kivitie, known by the artist name KT.
“Our main motivation was that Finnish‑language rap practically didn’t exist at the time. It felt exciting to create something entirely new,” Huhtala says.
Success through live performances
Trilogia’s first official release was a guest appearance on the album Tän tahtiin by another Finnish rap group, Fintelligens, in 2001. It was also at this point that Huhtala first heard about Gramex.
“The guys from Fintelligens already knew how the industry worked and advised us to join the copyright organisations.”
Gramex manages the licensing of recorded music on behalf of performers, handles invoicing, and pays remunerations directly to musicians, artists and producers. These remunerations are an essential and statutory part of an artist’s livelihood.
“Musicians’ income is often highly uncertain and irregular. Making sure that you receive all the income you are entitled to through copyright organisations can determine whether you are able to work professionally or not. Managing your rights in a sensible way outside these organisations is practically impossible,” Huhtala says.
Remunerations are collected for the use of music in, for example, radio broadcasts, television programmes and as background music. Gramex remunerations are not generated from social media or streaming services; instead, phonogram producers (such as record labels) license music to these services themselves.
Huhtala’s career has been particularly strong in the live sector and on streaming platforms. On Spotify, his most popular track, “Macho Fantastico,” has nearly 20 million streams.
“I’m proud of the success I’ve achieved in streaming and live performance. My career in radio has not been as strong. For this reason, Gramex remunerations have not been a particularly significant part of my annual income, apart from a few exceptional years. However, when you look at my more than 20 years as a Gramex client, the total amount is substantial.”
One year at a time
For Huhtala, copyright means income — but above all, ownership of his own art. He encourages artists to take an interest in copyright and to look after their own rights.
“Copyright organisations exist for us creators. That’s exactly why you should absolutely join them and take an interest in what they do.”
Over the course of his career, Huhtala has already achieved more than he ever dared to dream of. During his solo career, he has released three platinum albums and more than thirty gold-certified singles. At the moment, the artist feels content and is not dreaming of conquering the world.
“I’m extremely grateful to my listeners, and I get great joy from seeing how strong emotions the songs I’ve made evoke in other people. At this stage of my career, I take things one year at a time. As long as the music brings good feelings to me and to the listeners, it feels meaningful to simply enjoy the moment rather than dream of world domination.”
