Company name	IKEA International Group
Company logo
Company type	Private
Foundation	Älmhult, Småland, Sweden (1943)
Founder	Ingvar Kamprad
Slogan	A better night sleep.
Location	Älmhult, Småland, Sweden
Logistics centre	Dortmund, Germany
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Thomas Bergström (Chairman and CEO)Omar Gulay (President and CEO, Inter IKEA Group) Sören Hansen (VP and CFO, Inter IKEA Group)
Genre	Retail (Specialty)
Products	Self-assembly furniture
Revenue	€ 23.1 billion (2009)
Net income	€ 2.5 billion (2009)
Num employees	127,000 (2009)
Homepage	IKEA.com

IKEA (Ingvar Kamprad Elmtaryd Agunnaryd) is a privately held, international home products company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, appliances and home accessories. The company is now the world's largest furniture retailer.

IKEA was founded in 1943 by 17-year-old Ingvar Kamprad in Sweden, named as an acronym comprising the initials of the founder's name (Ingvar Kamprad), the farm where he grew up (Elmtaryd), and his home parish (Agunnaryd, in Småland, South Sweden).

The groups of companies that form IKEA are all controlled by INGKA Holding B.V., a Dutch corporation, which in turn is controlled by a tax-exempt, not-for-profit Dutch foundation. The intellectual property of IKEA is controlled by a series of obscure corporations that can be traced to the Netherlands Antilles.

INGKA Holding B.V. owns the industrial group Swedwood, which sources the manufacturing of IKEA furniture, the sales companies that run IKEA stores, as well as purchasing and supply functions, and IKEA of Sweden, which is responsible for the design and development of products in the IKEA range. INGKA Holding B.V. is wholly owned by Stichting INGKA Foundation, which is a non-profit foundation registered in Leiden, Netherlands. The logistics center Europe is located in Dortmund, Germany and Asian Logistic center is located in Singapore.

Inter IKEA Systems B.V. in Delft, also in the Netherlands, owns the IKEA concept and trademark, and there is a franchising agreement with every IKEA store in the world. The IKEA Group is the biggest franchisee of Inter IKEA Systems B.V. Inter IKEA Systems B.V. is not owned by INGKA Holding B.V., but by Inter IKEA Holding S.A. registered in Luxembourg, which in turn is part of Inter IKEA Holding registered in the Netherlands Antilles. The ownership of the holding companies has not been disclosed. 2006 saw the opening of 16 new stores. A total of at least 15 openings or relocations are planned for 2010.

In some languages (such as Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Dutch, German, Greek, Spanish and Korean), "IKEA" is pronounced something like , but in English it is , similar to the word "idea." As such, IKEA brought action in the Supreme Court of British Columbia successfully preventing a competitor in Victoria from using the name "Idea." Its Chinese name is "" (yíjiā), which literally means "fit for home" in written Chinese and sounds like the phrase "right now" in Cantonese pronunciation.

The IKEA Website contains about 12,000 products and is the closest representation of the entire IKEA range. There were over 470 million visitors to the IKEA websites in the year from Sep. 2007-Sep. 2008.

IKEA is keen to show leadership in adopting more environmentally friendly measures in its manufacturing processes . In 1990, IKEA adopted The Natural Step framework as the basis for its environmental plan (see "Environmental performance", below).

IKEA stores

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The first IKEA store was opened in Sweden in 1958. The first stores outside Sweden were opened in Norway (1963) and Denmark (1969). The 1970s saw the spread of stores to other parts of Europe, with the first store outside Scandinavia opening in Switzerland (1973), followed by Germany (1974). During the same decade, stores were opened in other parts of the world, including Japan (1974), Australia and Hong Kong (1975), Canada (1976), and Singapore (1978). Ikea has expanded further in the 1980s, opening stores in such locations as France (1981), the Canary Islands (1981), Belgium (1984), the United States of America (1985), the United Kingdom (1987), and Italy (1989). IKEA has continued expansion into more countries in the 1990s and 2000s. Germany, with 44 stores, is IKEA's biggest market, followed by the United States, with 37. At the end of 2009 financial year IKEA group had 267 stores in 25 countries. The first IKEA store in Latin America opened on February 17, 2010 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. However, the company has thus far not shown much of a presence in the developing countries.

The world's three largest IKEA stores

#Stockholm Kungens Kurva, Sweden: 55200 m² #Shenyang, China: 47000 m² #Malmö Svågertorp, Sweden: 44000 m²

Store format

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Older IKEA stores are usually very large blue buildings with few windows and yellow accents (the company's colors are also the national colors of Sweden). They are often designed around a "one-way" layout which leads customers along "the long natural way.". This layout is designed to encourage the customer to see the store in its entirety (as opposed to a traditional retail store, which allows a consumer to go right to the section where the goods and services needed are displayed) although there are often shortcuts to other parts of the showroom. The sequence first involves going through furniture showrooms making note of selected items. , USA.]] Then the customer collects a shopping cart and proceeds to an open-shelf warehouse for smaller items (Market Hall). Then the customer visits the furniture warehouse (Self Serve) where they collect previously noted showroom products in flat pack form. Sometimes they are directed to collect products from an external warehouse on the same site or at a site nearby. Finally they take their products to the cashier's station to make payment.

Newer IKEA stores, like the one in Mönchengladbach, Germany, make more use of glass, both for aesthetic and functional reasons. Skylights are also now common in the Self-serve warehouses. More natural light reduces energy costs, improves worker morale and gives a better impression of the product.

Whilst the original design involved the warehouse on the lower level and the showroom and marketplace on the upper, today most stores globally have the Showroom upstairs with the marketplace and warehouse downstairs. Additionally, some stores are single level. Some stores maintain separate warehouses to allow more stock to be kept on-site at any given time, although this occasionally results in challenges in finding the items, as well as a perception of having to queue in line twice. Single-level stores are found predominantly in areas where the cost of land would be less than the cost of building a 2-level store – examples include the store in Saarlouis, Germany and Haparanda, Sweden. Some stores also have dual level warehouses and machine controlled silos which allow large quantities of stock to be accessed throughout the selling day.

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Most IKEA stores offer an "as-is" area at the end of the warehouse just prior to the cashiers. Returned, damaged and formerly showcased products which are not in new condition or taken out of the IKEA product range are displayed here, and sold with a significant discount, but also with a "no-returns" policy. Most IKEA stores communicate the IKEA policy on environmental issues in the "as-is." In the United Kingdom, this is referred to as "Bargain Corner."

In Hong Kong, where shop space is limited and costly, IKEA has opened three outlets across the city, which are actually part of shopping malls. They are tiny compared to common "large blue box" store design, but are huge by Hong Kong standard. Most of the outlets still have a "one-way" layout. An exception is the newest outlet in Telford Plaza, where the three independent floors can be accessed freely from each. However, following IKEA tradition, the cashiers are only located on the lowest floor.

IKEA stores were first opened in Greece in 2004 in Athens. It has become a phenomenon with large numbers of Greeks re-furnishing their homes from the store. Some years later IKEA opened 3 new stores in Thessaloniki,Larisa and Ioannina.

The vast majority of IKEA stores are located outside of city centres, primarily because of land cost and traffic access. Several smaller store formats have been unsuccessfully tested in the past (the "midi" concept in the early 90s, which was tested in Ottawa and Heerlen with 9,300 m², or a "boutique" shop in Manhattan). A new format for a full-size, city centre store was introduced with the opening of the Coventry (UK) store in December 2007. This is in response to UK government restrictions blocking retail establishment outside city centres, and the format is expected to be used for future IKEA stores in the UK. The Coventry store has 7 levels and therefore has a flow different from other IKEA stores.

Another feature of many stores are their long opening hours. Many IKEA stores are in operation 24 hours a day with restocking and maintenance being carried out throughout the night. However, public opening hours tend to be much longer than most other retailers, with stores open well into the evening in many countries. In the UK for example, almost all stores are open past 8pm with opening times often around 9-10am. IKEA Croydon has one of the longest opening hours worldwide being open from 10am to 11pm Monday to Friday.

Restaurants and food markets

IKEA in New York City.]]

Many stores include restaurants serving traditional Swedish food such as potatoes with Swedish meatballs, cream sauce and lingonberry jam, although there are variations. In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia the usual boiled potatoes have been switched to french fries. Besides these Swedish staples, hot dogs and drinks are also sold, the latter for around 5 SEK (approx €0.50), along with a few varieties of the local cuisine, and beverages such as lingonberry juice. Also items such as Prinsesstårta — Princess cake are sold as desserts. IKEA stores in Saudi Arabia serve chicken shawarma at the exit instead of the traditional IKEA hot dog. IKEA in Sydney]] In many locations the IKEA restaurants open daily before the rest of the store and serve an inexpensive breakfast. In Canada, this breakfast costs $1 and includes eggs, sausage, and hashbrowns and various add-ons like bacon and pancakes at additional costs. In the United States, the local variation serves scrambled eggs, bacon, country potatoes and choice of Swedish pancakes or french toast sticks. In the Netherlands it costs €1 and consists of a croissant, a small bread roll, butter or margarine, jam, a slice of cheese, a boiled egg, and coffee or tea. In Australia it costs AU$2.95 - AU$3.50 and consists of hash brown, bacon, scrambled eggs, a sausage and tomato, with a $2 vegetarian option with baked beans which omits the sausage and bacon. In Germany this breakfast costs €1.95 and consists of two bread rolls, one slice of smoked salmon, one slice of cheese, one slice of salami, two portions of butter, one portion of jam, and coffee.

IKEA Canada, for a limited time, served dim sum alongside its original breakfast menu.

Refills of coffee, tea, and soft drinks are free of charge, even in countries where this is uncommon in other restaurants.

Many stores also have a Swedish Food Market selling Swedish-made, Swedish-style groceries, such as Swedish meatballs, packages of gravy and various Scandinavian cookies and crackers, as well as salmon and salmon roe. IKEA also sells lingonberry jam in a wide array of sizes, including buckets. IKEA has extended its product range with the introduction the IKEA food label. The new label has various different foods including, chocolates, meatballs, jams, pancakes, salmon and various drinks.

Småland

Many stores have a play area, named Småland (Swedish direct translation small land, can mean a lot of things but here it means land for the small ones. Småland is also the name of the province of Sweden where Ingvar Kamprad was born). Parents drop off their children at a gate to the playground, and pick them up after they arrive at another entrance. Parents are also given free pagers by the on-site staff; the staff will set off these pagers should a child need his or her parents sooner than expected.

Products

Furniture

Much of IKEA's furniture is designed to be assembled by the consumer rather than being sold pre-assembled. IKEA claims this permits them to reduce costs and use of packaging by not shipping air; the volume of a bookcase, for example, is considerably less if it is shipped unassembled rather than assembled. This is also a practical point for many of the chain's European customers, where public transport is commonly used; the flat-pack distribution methods allow for easier transport via public transport from the store to a home assembly.

IKEA contends that it has been a pioneering force in sustainable approaches to mass consumer culture. Kamprad refers to the concept as "democratic design," meaning that the company applies an integrated approach to manufacturing and design (see also environmental design). In response to the explosion of human population and material expectations in the 20th and 21st century, the company implements economies of scale, capturing material streams and creating manufacturing processes that hold costs and resource use down, such as the extensive use of particle board. The intended result is flexible, adaptable home furnishings, scalable both to smaller homes and dwellings as well as large houses.

Not all furniture is stocked at the store level. For example, while a particular color of sofa model may be stocked and can be picked up at the store, another color of the same model that is not available in the store will instead have to be shipped from a warehouse to the customer's home for an additional delivery charge. Unlike with other retail stores, any requests for a model to be shipped from the warehouse to the store for pickup would also incur the same delivery charge to the customer. Delivery charges can easily add another 10% to 25% to the purchase price.

Houses, flats

IKEA has also expanded their product base to include flat-pack houses, in an effort to cut prices involved in a first-time buyer's home. The product, named BoKlok was launched in Sweden in 1996 in a joint venture with Skanska. Now working in the Nordic countries and in UK, sites confirmed in England include London, Manchester, Leeds, Gateshead and Liverpool.

Family Mobile

On 8 August 2008, IKEA UK launched Family Mobile – a virtual mobile phone network, which uses the T-mobile network.

Manufacturing

Although IKEA household products and furniture are designed in Sweden, they are largely manufactured in developing countries to keep costs down. With suppliers in 50 countries, roughly 2/3 of purchasing is from Europe with about 1/3 from Asia. A small amount of products are produced in North America. Comparatively little production actually takes place in Sweden, though it still remains the fourth-largest supplier country (behind China, Poland and Italy). China accounts for about 2.5 times as much supply as Sweden. For most of its products, the final assembly is performed by the end-user (consumer).

Product names

IKEA products are identified by single word names. Most of the names are Swedish in origin. Although there are some notable exceptions, most product names are based on a special naming system developed by IKEA.

Upholstered furniture, coffee tables, rattan furniture, bookshelves, media storage, doorknobs: Swedish placenames (for example: Klippan)

Beds, wardrobes, hall furniture: Norwegian place names

Dining tables and chairs: Finnish place names

Bookcase ranges: Occupations

Bathroom articles: Scandinavian lakes, rivers and bays

Kitchens: grammatical terms, sometimes also other names

Chairs, desks: men's names

Materials, curtains: women's names

Garden furniture: Swedish islands

Carpets: Danish place names

Lighting: terms from music, chemistry, meteorology, measures, weights, seasons, months, days, boats, nautical terms

Bedlinen, bed covers, pillows/cushions: flowers, plants, precious stones

Children's items: mammals, birds, adjectives

Curtain accessories: mathematical and geometrical terms

Kitchen utensils: foreign words, spices, herbs, fish, mushrooms, fruits or berries, functional descriptions

Boxes, wall decoration, pictures and frames, clocks: colloquial expressions, also Swedish place names

For example, DUKTIG (meaning: good, well-behaved) is a line of children's toys, OSLO is a name of a bed, BILLY (a Swedish masculine name) is a popular bookcase, DINERA (meaning: (to) dine) for tableware, KASSETT (meaning: cassette) for media storage. One range of office furniture is named EFFEKTIV (meaning: efficient, effective), SKÄRPT (meaning: sharp or clever) is a line of kitchen knives.

A notable exception is the IVAR shelving system, which dates back to the early 1970s. This item is named after the item's designer.

Because IKEA is a worldwide company working in several countries with several different languages, sometimes the Nordic naming leads to problems where the word means something completely different to the product. While exotic-sounding names draw attention, e.g., in anglophone countries, a number of them call for a snicker. Notable examples include "Jerker" desk, "Fukta" plant spray and "Fartfull" workbench. Also, the most recent new product, Lyckhem (meaning bliss). The products are generally withdrawn, probably after someone pointed at blunders, but not before generating some news. Similar blunders happen with other companies as well.

Company founder Ingvar Kamprad, who is dyslexic, found that naming the furniture with proper names and words, rather than a product code, made the names easier to remember.

Catalog

IKEA publishes an annual catalogue. First published in Swedish in 1951, the catalogue is now published in 55 editions, in 27 languages for 36 countries, and is considered to be the main marketing tool of the retail giant, consuming 70% of the company's annual marketing budget.

The catalogue is distributed both in stores and by mail. Most of the catalogue is produced by IKEA Communications AB in IKEA's hometown of Älmhult, Sweden where IKEA operates the largest photo studio in northern Europe at 8,000 square metres in size. The catalogue itself is printed on chlorine-free paper of 10–15% post-consumer waste. More copies of the IKEA catalogue are printed each year than the Bible.

According to Canadian broadcaster, CTV, "IKEA's publications have developed an almost cult-like following online. Readers have found all kinds of strange tidbits, including mysterious cat pictures, apparent Mickey Mouse references and weird books wedged into the many shelves that clutter the catalogues."

IKEA Family

In common with some other retailers, IKEA has launched a loyalty card in its stores in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Australia, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Russia, China, Japan, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ireland, Poland, Italy, Hungary, France, Dominican Republic, Portugal and Spain called "IKEA Family." The distinctive orange card is free of charge and can be used to obtain discounts on a special range of products found in each IKEA store. In particular, it gives 25% off the price of commissioned ranges of IKEA products on presentation of the card. The card also gives discounts on food purchased in the restaurant and the Swedish Food Market. In the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Russia, Japan, UK, Switzerland, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Italy and Poland it also entitles the holder to free coffee in the restaurant. In Spain, France, Hungary, Belgium, Ireland and Poland, this offer is only available on working days.

In conjunction with the card, IKEA also publishes and sells a printed quarterly magazine titled IKEA Family Live which supplements the card and catalogue. The magazine is already printed in thirteen languages and an English edition for the United Kingdom was launched in February 2007. It is expected to have a subscription of over 500,000.

Corporate structure

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Despite its Swedish roots, IKEA is owned and operated by a complicated array of not-for-profit and for-profit corporations.

The IKEA corporate structure is divided into two main parts: operations and franchising. Most of IKEA's operations, including the management of the majority of its stores, the design and manufacture of its furniture, and purchasing and supply functions are overseen by INGKA Holding, a private, for-profit Dutch company. Of the IKEA stores in 36 countries, 235 are run by the INGKA Holding. The remaining 30 stores are run by franchisees outside of the INGKA Holding.

INGKA Holding is not an independent company, but is wholly owned by the Stichting Ingka Foundation, which Kamprad established in 1982 in the Netherlands as a tax-exempt, not-for-profit foundation. The Ingka Foundation is controlled by a five-member executive committee that is chaired by Kamprad and includes his wife and attorney.

While most IKEA stores operate under the direct purview of Ingka Holding and the Ingka Foundation, the IKEA trademark and concept is owned by an entirely separate Dutch company, Inter IKEA Systems. Every IKEA store, including those run by Ingka Holding, pays a franchise fee of 3% of the revenue to Inter IKEA Systems. The ownership of Inter IKEA Systems is exceedingly complicated and, ultimately, uncertain. Inter IKEA Systems is owned by Inter IKEA Holding, a company registered in Luxembourg. Inter IKEA Holding, in turn, belongs to an identically named company in the former Netherlands Antilles that is run by a trust company based in Curaçao. The owners of this trust company are unknown (IKEA refuses to identify them) but are assumed to be members of the Kamprad family. Like elsewhere, all stores are operated under a franchise agreement with Inter IKEA Systems.

Non-taxable profit

The net profit of IKEA Group (which does not include Inter IKEA systems) in fiscal year 2009 (after paying franchise fees to Inter IKEA systems) was €2.538 billion on sales of €21.846 billion. Because INGKA Holding is owned by the nonprofit INGKA Foundation, none of this profit is taxed. The foundation's nonprofit status also means that the Kamprad family cannot reap these profits directly, but the Kamprads do collect a portion of IKEA sales profits through the franchising relationship between INGKA Holding and Inter IKEA Systems.

Inter IKEA Systems collected €631 million of franchise fees in 2004, but reported pre-tax profits of only €225 million in 2004. One of the major pre-tax expenses that Inter IKEA systems reported was €590 million of “other operating charges.” IKEA has refused to explain these charges, but Inter IKEA Systems appears to make large payments to I.I. Holding, another Luxembourg-registered group that, according to The Economist, “is almost certain to be controlled by the Kamprad family.” I.I. Holding made a profit of €328 million in 2004.

In 2004, the Inter IKEA group of companies and I.I. Holding reported combined profits of €553m and paid €19m in taxes, or approximately 3.5 percent.

Control by Kamprad

Along with helping IKEA make non-taxable profit, IKEA's complicated corporate structure allows Kamprad to maintain tight control over the operations of Ingka Holding, and thus the operation of most IKEA stores. The Ingka Foundation’s five-person executive committee is chaired by Kamprad. It appoints the board of Ingka Holding, approves any changes to Ingka Holding’s bylaws, and has the right to preempt new share issues. If a member of the executive committee quits or dies, the other four members appoint his or her replacement.

In Kamprad's absence the foundation's bylaws include specific provisions requiring it to continue operating the Ingka Holding group and specifying that shares can be sold only to another foundation with the same objectives as the Ingka Foundation. However, most of the Group's profit is spent on investments, the foundation expects to spend €45 million on charitable giving in 2010 (compare the Gates Foundation, which made gifts of more than $1.5 billion in 2005. IKEA has provided furniture for over 100 "bridge schools" in Liberia.

In the 2008 Sichuan earthquake in China, IKEA Beijing sold an alligator toy for 40 yuan (US$5.83, €3.70) with all income going to the children in the earthquake struck area

IKEA also supports American Forests to restore forests and reduce pollution.

Links with Education In 2008 IKEA was a supporter of the Design Wales Ffres Awards, providing a creative brief for undergraduate design competition.

IKEA Social Initiative

In September 2005 IKEA Social Initiative was formed to manage the company’s social involvements on a global level. IKEA Social Initiative is headed by Marianne Barner.

The main partners to IKEA Social Initiative are UNICEF and Save the Children.

On the 23rd of February 2009 at the ECOSOC event in New York, UNICEF announced that IKEA Social Initiative has become the agency’s largest corporate partner, with total commitments of more than 180 million USD.

Examples of involvements: IKEA through IKEA Social Initiative contribute €1 to UNICEF and Save the Children from each soft toy sold during the holiday seasons, raising a total of €16.7 million so far. IKEA Social Initiative provided soft toys to children in cyclone affected Myanmar. Starting in June 2009, for every Sunnan solar-powered lamp sold in IKEA stores worldwide, IKEA Social Initiative will donate one Sunnan with the help of UNICEF.

Environmental performance

After initial environmental issues like the highly publicized formaldehyde scandals in the early 1980s and 1992, IKEA took a proactive stance on environmental issues and tried to prevent future incidents through a variety of measures. In 1990, IKEA invited Karl-Henrik Robèrt, founder of The Natural Step, to address its board of directors. Robert's system conditions for sustainability provided a strategic approach to improving the company's environmental performance. This led to the development of an Environmental Action Plan, which was adopted in 1992. The plan focused on structural change, allowing IKEA to "maximize the impact of resources invested and reduce the energy necessary to address isolated issues."

More recently, IKEA has stopped providing plastic bags to customers, but offers reusable bags for sale. The IKEA restaurants also only offer reusable plates, knives, forks, spoons, etc. Toilets in some IKEA restrooms have been outfitted with dual-function flushers. IKEA has recycling bins for compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), energy saving bulbs, and batteries. In 2001 IKEA was one of the first companies to operate its own cross-border freight trains through several countries in Europe.

In August 2008, IKEA also announced that it had created IKEA GreenTech, a €50 million venture capital fund. Located in Lund (a college town in Sweden), it will invest in 8–10 companies in the coming five years with focus on solar panels, alternative light sources, product materials, energy efficiency, and water saving and purification. The aim is to commercialise green technologies for sale in IKEA stores within 3–4 years.

Community impact

IKEA's goals of sustainability and environmental design in their merchandise have sometimes been at odds with the impact a new IKEA store can have on a community.

In September 2004, when IKEA offered a limited number of free $150 vouchers at the opening of a new store in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, three people were crushed to death in a stampede that followed the store's opening. in Atlanta, GA.]] IKEA has demolished historic buildings in at least one case for a parking area. (At the College Park, Maryland, USA, store there is an interactive digital display which tells the history of a tavern which used to exist where the store is currently located.) IKEA was refused planning permission for a future store in the United Kingdom in 2004 (to be based in Stockport, Greater Manchester) by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. It applied for judicial review but lost in 2005. However, they later received permission to build a store within Greater Manchester a few miles from the originally planned site in Ashton-under-Lyne. An estimated £10,000 was spent on traffic policing, and even more on rerouting traffic from the M60 motorway around Ashton. After viewing the sign of an IKEA under construction near Portland International Airport, Randy Leonard, the city commissioner in charge of sign permits in Portland, Oregon, placed a moratorium on all pending and future sign permits in the area.

Criticisms

Some criticisms of IKEA:

Advertising. In the 1990s, there were several complaints arising from IKEA's English television advertising campaigns:

“Stop being so English:” In which a “Swedish psychologist” claims the English are uptight due to their taste in “English” furniture (complaints were dismissed).

An advertisement where a management consultant suggests how much more furniture a company could buy if it fired an office worker (complaints were dismissed but IKEA voluntarily withdrew the advert).

A campaign under the slogan, "Just pack up, ship out, find a place of your own. And for all your new things, you know where to come. Make a fresh start," got complaints that it was trivializing marriage breakups (complaints were dismissed).

IKEA founder Ingvar Kamprad was, as a teen, directly involved in the pro-Nazi New Swedish Movement (Nysvenska Rörelsen) until at least 1948, causing tensions when IKEA began opening stores in Israel. Kamprad devotes two chapters to his time in Nysvenska Rörelsen in his book, Leading By Design: The IKEA Story and, in a 1994 letter to IKEA employees, called his affiliation with the organization the "greatest mistake of his life." Former Norwegian prime minister Kjell Magne Bondevik has criticized IKEA for not depicting women assembling furniture in its instruction booklets, despite the fact that many sets of instructions do, in fact, show women. In 2004 there was controversy about an Irish law restricting the maximum size of a retail outlet to 6,000 m². IKEA's plan to build a much larger store in Dublin caused the law to be put up for debate. The law was changed to remove the size limit for retail outlets selling durable goods in designated areas. The Minister for the Environment was criticized for allegedly changing the law to suit one company and other agencies protested the law change as damaging to small businesses while the government defended their decision stating that the move was a positive one for Irish consumers. IKEA Dublin has since opened on 27 July 2009. June 2007: the designated nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party complained about an artist's rendering of IKEA Belfast that included both the Union Flag and the Ulster Banner flag as two of the three flags in front of the store. After being labelled "an upmarket Orange hall" by the party, IKEA assured customers and coworkers that only the Swedish flag would be seen outside the actual store. June 2007: some prospective customers took offense at an email newsletter. The BRUNKRISSLA bedding notes said, "Brightens up your grad's dorm. Unlike a creepy gothic roommate, who can be a bad influence." Members of the goth subculture took offense at the stereotype. A researcher from the University of Copenhagen discovered that for years, IKEA has named their cheap rugs after Danish places, while the more expensive and luxurious furniture was named after Swedish places. The researcher, Klaus Kjøller, who is well-known for tongue-in-cheek statements, accused IKEA of imperialism. People in Canada became upset with IKEA when Citytv discovered that IKEA charged as much as twice the price in their Canadian stores for the same items sold in their American stores, this despite the Canadian dollar reaching parity with the U.S. dollar. In 2008, IKEA sent an email to their British customers advising that "IKEA Shop Online is open everywhere", however this only applied to England and Wales. As of February 2010, Northern Irish and Scottish customers are unable to shop online, however some Scottish customers may get items delivered via IKEA Edinburgh. This scheme called IKEA DIRECT only applies to certain postcodes and costs between £35 (City of Edinburgh) to £120 (Aberdeenshire) for delivery

Typeface change

IKEA caused a flap in the graphic design world in 2009 when it changed the typeface used in its catalog from Futura to Verdana, expressing a desire to unify its branding between print and web media. The controversy has been attributed to the perception of Verdana as a symbol of homogeneity in popular typography.

Time magazine and the Associated Press ran articles on the controversy including a brief interview with an IKEA representative, focusing on the opinions of typographers and designers. Design and advertising industry-focused publications such as Business Week joined the fray of online posts. The branding critic blog, Brand New, was one of those using the Verdanagate name. The Guardian ran an article asking "Ikea is changing its font to Verdana – causing outrage among typomaniacs. Should the rest of us care? Absolutely." The New York Times said the change to Verdana "is so offensive to many because it seems like a slap at the principles of design by a company that has been hailed for its adherence to them."

Labour practices

In November 2009, Ikea, along with Abercrombie & Fitch, Gymboree, Hanes, Kohl’s, LL Bean, Pier 1, Propper International, and Walmart, was added to the 2010 Sweatshop Hall of Shame by labour rights group International Labor Rights Forum.

Advertising

IKEA ran a commercial widely thought to be the first commercial featuring a homosexual couple. It aired only once, in 1994. IKEA has run other commercials targeting the gay community as well as a commercial featuring a transgender woman.

In 2002, the inaugural television component of the "Unböring" campaign, titled Lamp, went on to win several awards, including a Grand Clio, Golds at the London International Awards and the ANDY Awards, and the Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the most prestigious awards ceremony in the advertising community.

IKEA launched a UK wide advertising campaign in September 2007 titled 'Home is the Most Important Place in the World' using estate agent signs with the term 'Not For Sale' written on them as part of the wider campaign. However, after the campaign appeared in the Metro newspaper London the business news website www.mad.co.uk remarked that the IKEA campaign had amazing similarities with the marketing activity of UK home refurbishment company Onis Living who had launched their own Not For Sale advertising campaign 2 years previously and in November 2006 had been awarded the Interbuild 2006 Construction Marketing Award for best campaign under £25,000.

A debate ensued between Fraser Patterson, Chief Executive of Onis and Andrew McGuinness, partner at Beattie McGuinness Bungay (BMB), the advertising and PR agency awarded the £12m IKEA account. The essence of the debate was that BMB claimed to be unaware of Onis's campaign as Onis were not an advertising agency. Onis's argument was that they had already been accredited for their Not For Sale campaign and that their advertising could be seen in prominent landmarks throughout London, they were concerned about the impact IKEA's campaign would have on the originality of their own.

After some negotiations BMB and IKEA agreed to provide Onis with a feature page on the IKEA campaign site linking through to Onis's .co.uk site, for a period of 1 year. Onis is possibly the only company to have ever been advertised by IKEA in such a fashion. In 2008 Onis Homes limited was placed into voluntary liquidation and the website www.onishome.com closed.

The Intellectual Property and trading rights of Onis Homes Limited were later purchased by new shareholders with the strategy to grow the Onis brand throughout the U.K as a one stop shop home refurbishment franchise using the trading name Onis living.

IKEA recently paired up with the makers of popular video game The Sims 2 to make a stuff pack called The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff. The game features many items that can be found in IKEA stores and was released on June 24, 2008 in North America and June 26, 2008 in Europe. It is the second stuff pack with a major brand, the first being The Sims 2 H&M; Fashion Stuff, which are both coincidentally companies of Swedish origin.

IKEA has taken over title sponsorship of Philadelphia's annual Thanksgiving Day parade in 2008, replacing Boscov's, who filed for bankruptcy in August 2008.

In November 2008 a subway train decorated in IKEA style was introduced in Novosibirsk, Russia. Four cars were turned into a mobile showroom of the Swedish design. The redesigned train, which features colourful seats and fancy curtains, carried passengers until June 6, 2009.

Oyster cards (the ticket-free system for London Underground) are now given with wallets sponsored by IKEA who also sponsor the tube map.

In January 2009, just before the new store opened in Southampton, the MV Red Osprey of Red Funnel was re-painted in an entirely yellow and blue livery to celebrate the opening of the new IKEA store in Southampton. This is the first time a Red Funnel ferry has been re-painted out of its own red and white colour scheme. It stayed in these colours for 12 months as part of a deal between Red Funnel and IKEA to provide home delivery services to the Isle of Wight. It was repainted with Red Funnel's red and white livery when the deal ended in January 2010.

In March 2010, IKEA has developed an interesting event in four important metro stations in Paris. Furniture collections have been displayed in high-traffic spots, giving the potential customers a chance to interact with the brand by checking out the products. The subway walls have been also filled with prints that showcase IKEA interiors

In September 2010, IKEA launched an advertisement for UK & Ireland called "Happy Inside" which had 100 cats lying on IKEA furniture in the flagship IKEA store in Wembley, London.

Awards

IKEA was named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers in 2004 and 2005 by Working Mothers magazine. It ranked 96 in Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For in 2006 and in October 2008, IKEA Canada LP was named one of "Canada's Top 100 Employers" by Mediacorp Canada Inc., and was featured in Maclean's newsmagazine.

See also

IKEA Catalogue

Ready-to-assemble furniture

References

External links

Company home page

The Kitchen

Full list of stores, store sizes and opening dates

IKEA to cut 300 managerial jobs

Ikea opens overnight stay stores

Ikea destroyed ten ancient tombs during new store construction in China (Chinese)

"The miracle of Älmhult" by Oliver Burkeman from the Guardian newspaper. The writer talks about his visit to IKEA's HQ in Älmhult

Yearly Summary FY09, Comments FY09 & FY10, IKEA Group

Category:Family businesses Category:Furniture retailers Category:Furniture manufacturers Category:Companies of Sweden Category:Swedish brands Category:Companies established in 1943 Category:Multinational companies headquartered in the Netherlands Category:Furniture retailers of the United States Category:Jardine Matheson Group Category:Privately held companies of the Netherlands Category:Purveyors to the Court of Sweden

Name	Spike Jonze
Caption	Jonze holding a producer credit for The 1 Second Film in October 2004
Birth name	Adam Spiegel
Birth date	October 22, 1969
Birth place	Rockville, Maryland, U.S.
Spouse	Sofia Coppola (1999-2003) (divorced)
Partner	Michelle Williams (2008-2009)

Spike Jonze (born October 22, 1969) is an American director, producer and actor, whose work includes music videos, commercials, film and television. He is best known for his collaborations with writer Charlie Kaufman, which include the 1999 film Being John Malkovich and the 2002 film Adaptation., and for his work as director of the 2009 film Where the Wild Things Are. He was also a co-creator and executive producer of MTV's Jackass. He is currently the creative director of VBS.tv. He is also part owner of skateboard company Girl Skateboards with riders Rick Howard and Mike Carroll.

He also co-founded Directors Label with Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry.

Early life

Jonze was born in Rockville, Maryland, and raised in Bethesda, Maryland and in Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania. His father, Arthur Spiegel III, was a distant relation of the Spiegel catalog family and founded APM Management Consultants. His mother, Sandy Granzow, is a writer, communications consultant in developing countries, and artist. His brother Sam (aka Squeak E. Clean) is a producer and DJ. Jonze attended The Field School in Washington, D.C., and Walt Whitman High School.

When he was in junior high and high school, Jonze worked at Browns convenient store, where his friend Mike Henderson gave him his nickname "Spike Jonze". The three also created the youth culture magazines Homeboy and Dirt (the latter of which was described as "Sassy Magazine for boys," being published by the same company and distributed in cellophane bags with the landmark magazine for young women).

Career

In 2006, he was nominated by the Directors Guild of America for "Outstanding Achievement in Commercials in 2005." He was nominated for a body of work that included Hello Tomorrow for Adidas, Lamp for IKEA, and Pardon Our Dust for The Gap. He was a producer and co-creator of MTV television series Jackass and , also directing some of the segments.

Jonze has many alter egos, including Richard Koufey (alternately spelled Coufey or Couffe), the leader of the Torrance Community Dance Group, an urban troupe that performs in public spaces. The Koufey persona appeared when Jonze, in character, filmed himself dancing to Fatboy Slim's "Rockafeller Skank" as it played on a boom box in a public area. Spike showed the video to Slim, who loved it. Jonze then assembled a group of dancers to perform to Slim's "Praise You" outside a Westwood, California movie theater and taped the performance. The resulting clip was a huge success, and "Koufey" and his troupe were invited to New York City to perform the song for the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards. The video received awards for Best Direction, Breakthrough, and Best Choreography, which Jonze accepted, still in character. Jonze made a mockumentary about the experience called Torrance Rises.

Since 2007, he has been the creative director at VBS.tv, an online television network supplied by Vice and funded by MTV. which opened in the United States on October 16, 2009. It was arguably his most anticipated film to date, the product of an almost decade long collaboration with author Maurice Sendak. The film received generally favorable reviews, and appeared on many critics' end-of-the-year top ten lists.

In July 2009, Jonze acquired the rights to make a film adaptation of the Shane Jones novel, Light Boxes. However, Jonze, in an interview with Times Online, said that Ray was no longer a director for that project. In an interview with Interview Magazine in June 2010, Jones said the film option had been dropped.

In 2010, Jonze directed the video for Arcade Fire's 'The Suburbs'.

Spike is good friends with Björk and frequently works with her. He directed three videos for her and she contributed with the theme song for Spike's Being John Malkovich film.

Personal life

On June 26, 1999, Jonze married director Sofia Coppola, whom he had known for nearly ten years. On December 5, 2003, the couple filed for divorce, citing "irreconcilable differences." The character of John, a career-driven photographer (Giovanni Ribisi) in Coppola's Lost In Translation (2003), was rumored to be based on Jonze, though Coppola has vehemently denied this.

He was known to be dating the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' lead singer, Karen O.

He dated Michelle Williams from July 2008 to September 2009. In 2010, it is reported that he is dating Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi.

Recurring collaborators

Spike Jonze has worked with certain actors and key crew members in more than one of his films.

Filmography

Director

Feature films

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Budget ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | US Gross ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Awards |- | rowspan="1" | 1999 | Being John Malkovich | $13 million | $22,863,596 | 3 Oscar nominations; 4 GG nominations |- | rowspan="1" | 2002 | Adaptation. | $19 million | $22,498,520 | 1 Oscar win, 3 nominations; 2 GG wins |- | rowspan="1" | 2009 | Where the Wild Things Are | $100 million | $100,086,793 | 1 GG nomination |}

Short films

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- | 1997 | How They Get There | Writer, Director |- | rowspan="1" | 1998 | Amarillo by Morning | Director |- | 1999 | Torrance Rises | Director, Choreographer, Actor |- | 2009 | We Were Once a Fairytale | Director |- | 2010 | I'm Here | Writer, Director |- | 2010 | Scenes from the Suburbs | Director |}

Music videos

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Song ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Artist ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |rowspan="2"|1992 | "High in High School" | Chainsaw Kittens | |- | "100%" | Sonic Youth | |- |rowspan="5"|1993 | "Cannonball" | The Breeders | Co-directed by Kim Gordon Produced by Steve Reiss |- | "Country at War" | X | |- | "Daughters of the Kaos" | Luscious Jackson |- | "Hang On" | Teenage Fanclub | |- | "Time for Livin'" | Beastie Boys | |- |rowspan="12"|1994 | "All About Eve" | Marxman | |- | "Buddy Holly" | Weezer | |- | "Ditch Digger" | Rocket from the Crypt | |- | "Divine Hammer" | The Breeders | |- | "Feel the Pain" | Dinosaur Jr. | |- | "I Can't Stop Smiling" | Velocity Girl | |- | "If I Only Had a Brain" | MC 900 Ft. Jesus | |- | "Old Timer" | that dog. | |- | "Ricky's Theme" | rowspan="3"|Beastie Boys | |- | "Sabotage" | Also writer |- | "Sure Shot" | |- | "Undone - The Sweater Song" | Weezer | |- |rowspan="7"|1995 | "California" | Wax | |- | "Car Song" | Elastica | |- | "Crush with Eyeliner" | R.E.M. | |- | "Freedom of '76" | Ween | |- | "It's Oh So Quiet" | Björk | |- | "The Diamond Sea" | Sonic Youth | |- | "Who Is Next?" | Wax | |- | 1996 | "Drop" | The Pharcyde | |- | rowspan="7"|1997 | "Da Funk" | Daft Punk | |- | "Electrolite" | R.E.M. | |- | "Elektrobank" | The Chemical Brothers | |- | "It's All About the Benjamins" (Rock Remix) | Puff Daddy | |- | "Liberty Calls" | Mike Watt | |- | "Shady Lane" | Pavement | |- | "Sky's the Limit" | The Notorious B.I.G. | |- | rowspan="3"|1998 | "Home" | Sean Lennon | |- | "Praise You" | Fatboy Slim | A Torrance Public Film Production |- | "Root Down" version 2 | Beastie Boys | |- | rowspan="3"|2000 | "Weapon of Choice" | Fatboy Slim |- | "What's Up, Fatlip?" | Fatlip | |- | "Wonderboy" | Tenacious D | As Marcus Von Bueler |- | rowspan="3"|2002 | "Island in the Sun" (version 2) | Weezer | |- | "Guess I'm Doing Fine" | Beck | |- | "It's in Our Hands" | Björk | |- | 2003 | "Big Brat" | Phantom Planet | |- |rowspan="2"|2004 | "Get Back" | Ludacris | |- | "Y Control" | Yeah Yeah Yeahs | |- | rowspan="1"|2005 | "Triumph of a Heart" | Björk | |- | rowspan="1"|2008 | "Flashing Lights" | Kanye West | Co-directed with West |- | rowspan="2"|2009 | "Heaven" | UNKLE | Co-directed with Ty Evans |- | "25" | AsDSSka | Co-directed with Crysal Moselle |- |rowspan="2"|2010 | "Drunk Girls" | LCD Soundsystem | Co-directed with James Murphy |- | "The Suburbs" | Arcade Fire |- |}

Video

Ciao L.A. (director) (1994)

An Intimate Look Inside the Acting Process with Ice Cube (director) (1999)

What's Up, Fatlip? (director) (2003)

(director) (2003)

The Mystery of Dalarö (director) (2004)

Corporate Ghost (actor, director) (2004)

Tell Me What Rockers to Swallow (cinematographer) (2004)

Skateboard videos

"Rubbish Heap" for SMA World Industries (1989)

"Two World Industries Men" for SMA World Industries (1989)

"Video Days" for Blind (1991)

Goldfish (1993)

Mouse (1996)

The Chocolate Tour (1999)

Yeah Right! (2003)

Hot Chocolate! (2004)

The Krooked Chronicles (2006)

"Fully Flared" for Lakai (2007)

Other filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role |- | 1993 | Mi Vida Loca | rowspan="3"|Actor |- | 1996 | Pig! |- | rowspan="3" | 1997 | The Game |- | Free Tibet | Cinematographer |- | Three Kings | Actor |- | rowspan="2" | 2001 | Human Nature | Producer |- | Keep Your Eyes Open | Actor |- |''2002 | | Producer, Featured |- | 2006 | | Producer, Featured |- | rowspan="2"|2008 | Synecdoche, New York | rowspan="2" | Producer |- | Heavy Metal in Baghdad |- | rowspan="1" | 2009 | The 1 Second Film | Producer, Appearing |- | 2010 |Jackass 3D | Producer, Appearing |- | 2010 |Higglety Pigglety Pop! or There Must Be More to Life | Producer, Appearing |}

Television

{| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#B0C4DE" align="center" ! Year ! Title ! Position |- | 2000 | Jackass | Creator, Executive Producer |- | 2004 | Sonic Youth Video Dose | Actor |- | 2010 | The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret | Actor - Doug Whitney |- |}

References

External links

Spike Jonze Producer Profile on The 1 Second Film website

Allmovie entry for Spike Jonze

Commercials at MJZ

Spike Jonze unmasked

DirectorsLabel.com, co-founded with Chris Cunningham and Michel Gondry

KCRW's The Treatment: Spike Jonze

"Spike Jonze Unmasked" article from New York Magazine

Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena: Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen. Bielefeld 2007, p. 175ff., p. 182ff., p. 232ff., p. 277ff.

The New York Times Magazine profile

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Advertising directors Category:American film directors Category:American film producers Category:American music video directors Category:American television directors Category:American television producers Category:Grammy Award winners

Category:People from Rockville, Maryland

Name	Robert Muraine
Full name	Robert Leo Muraine II
Birth date	July 02, 1987
Birth place	Eagle Rock, Los Angeles, California, United States
Height
Dances	popping

Robert "Mr. Fantastic" Muraine (born July 2, 1987 in North East Los Angeles, California) is a dancer in the popping style.

Muraine gained national attention when he gave a lengthy audition to the obscure tune of "It's Me Bitches" by Swizz Beats for Season 4 of the television program So You Think You Can Dance, during which executive producer and judge Nigel Lythgoe declared that Muraine was his favorite dancer of 2008 and then handed him the ticket in a mock slow motion fashion. Muraine quit during contestant selection but appeared later in the season for a guest performance, after which Lythgoe suggested a dance-off with Phillip "PacMan" Chbeeb. The dance-off aired in August 2008 during the season finale and the judges selected Muraine as the winner.

Muraine also represented the USA in Superstars of Dance on NBC. Specifically winning the bronze medal in the solo category, which helped lead the USA to take the top prize for the season. He was referred to as the "popping soloist" of the team.

Muraine starred in a television commercial for IKEA called "What Goes Where?" in which he arranges IKEA products alongside Shugamai Johnson performing with robot dance and liquid dancing.

Currently, Muraine is involved in Cirque Du Soleil's Cirque Dreams: Illumination, performing his unique style of dance. He is majorly featured in a segment called "An Urban Beat with Robert Muraine."

References

External links

Full length IKEA video featuring Muraine

RobertMuraine.com

Superstars of Dance

Category:Popping dancers Category:So You Think You Can Dance contestants Category:1987 births Category:Living people

Name	Owl City
Landscape	Yes
Background	group_or_band
Genre	Synthpop Alternative
Origin	Owatonna, Minnesota, United States
Years active	2007–present
Label	Universal Republic
Associated acts	Sky Sailing, Swimming With Dolphins, Breanne Duren, Relient K, Port Blue, Armin van Buuren
Url
Current members	Adam Young

Owl City is an American synthpop musical project by Adam Young. Owl City was born from Young's musical experiments in his parents' basement in Owatonna, Minnesota. As Owl City, Young developed a following through MySpace before signing with Universal Republic.

Young claims that his influences are disco and European electronic music. His music has also been compared to The Postal Service. After two independent albums, Owl City gained mainstream popularity with the 2009 major label debut album Ocean Eyes, which spawned the hit single "Fireflies".

History

Early years (2007–08)

Suffering from insomnia while working in a Coca-Cola Factory in his hometown, Owatanna, Young turned to composing music. He began receiving attention for songs he had uploaded to MySpace, the "viral popularity" of which would later result in his signing to a major label. In 2007, Owl City released an EP titled Of June, followed by the 2008 release of the album Maybe I'm Dreaming. Of June reached #20 on the Billboard Electronic Albums chart, and Maybe I'm Dreaming peaked on the same chart at #16.

Ocean Eyes (2009-2010)

Owl City's third album, Ocean Eyes, was released on iTunes on July 14, 2009, with the physical release following on July 28, 2009. The album debuted at #27 on the Billboard 200. Owl City has released three official singles: "Umbrella Beach", "Vanilla Twilight",and "Fireflies". "Fireflies" topped the US and Canadian charts and became the most-downloaded song on iTunes in the US. Ocean Eyes reached the top ten on the US album charts and topped the US electronic charts and also reached Amazon MP3's top 10 most downloaded album list. By December 2009, it was certified Gold in the United States. On January 24, 2010, Owl City reached the number 1 spot in the UK Top 40 Singles chart with "Fireflies". The song "Tidal Wave" also received significant airplay on Christian music radio stations.

Young is joined by Breanne Düren on several tracks; the most noted being "The Saltwater Room". Owl City's live band consists of Breanne Duren (background vocals/keyboards), Matthew Decker (drums), Laura Musten (violin), and Hannah Schroeder (cello).

Relient K vocalist Matt Thiessen has toured and collaborated with Owl City on several tracks, including "Fireflies", where Matt can be heard providing the backup vocals. Young also produced Relient K's song "Terminals". Thiessen stated that it is very likely that he and Young will produce a side project called "Goodbye Dubai" in the future.

"Fireflies" was released as a free download on the iPod/iPhone game Tap Tap Revenge 3 by Tapulous. Prior to the July 14, 2009 internet release of Ocean Eyes, and the "Fireflies" single, Steve Hoover was hired as a director for a music video for "Fireflies". The video was to have had an exclusive premiere on MySpace, but had been leaked onto YouTube and Dailymotion hours earlier. "Fireflies" became a big sleeper hit, topping the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States for the week ending November 7, 2009.

Owl City is featured on Soundtrack 90210 with a song titled "Sunburn", which was released on October 13, 2009. Owl City has toured with The Scene Aesthetic and Brooke Waggoner. He was also guest featured in the soundtrack to Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland with a song that had already been featured in his debut album, "The Technicolor Phase".

All Things Bright & Beautiful (2010–present)

Young has revealed a new musical project known as Sky Sailing, moving away from his usual electronica genre of music and introducing acoustic guitar and piano accompaniments into his work. The unrefined tracks were recorded in the summer of 2007 before he began making music as Owl City. His first album under this new project is entitled An Airplane Carried Me to Bed, and was released July 13, 2010 via iTunes.

He also recently announced via Twitter that more music will soon be released under his main project, Owl City.

In May, 2010, Adam Young collaborated with high-profile British electronic composer, producer, musician, and songwriter Nick Bracegirdle. Under his Chicane alias, Bracegirdle released the single "Middledistancerunner" on 1 August 2010 featuring Adam Young on vocals. This will be the first single from the upcoming fourth Chicane album Giants.

He also worked with famed Dutch producer Armin van Buuren, appearing on a track called 'Youtopia' from the forthcoming van Buuren album Mirage on September 10, 2010.

On August 2, 2010, it was announced that Owl City would not open for Maroon 5 on the first three concerts of the American Leg of their tour due to a kidney stone.

He also stated on his Twitter, that he will release a song for the upcoming film, Legend of the Guardians, titled "To the Sky" which hit the Internet on September 1.

On September 1, 2010, Adam Young opened Owl City University as an interactive fan site with projects and homework including the integration with Facebook and Twitter. It is an area where other fans can join groups and communicate. It contains "projects" to complete to get credits. It includes messages directly from Adam Young as video blogs.

On September 21, 2010 "To the Sky" was officially released via iTunes on the soundtrack for Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'hoole.

Young released a cover version of the praise and worship song "In Christ Alone" as a streaming mp3 on his website, , on October 25, 2010.

Concertgoers at Adam's halloween homecoming show were treated to a new song "Halloween in Owatonna", played by Matt Thiessen. Matt also announced that he is working with Adam on a song titled "Plant Life" for Owl City's upcoming album, confirmed by Adam Young and the Owatonna People's Press to be on track for a Spring 2011 release.

On November 13, 2010, a new album was also released for one of his other musical projects, "Windsor Airlift", called "Flight" on iTunes.

In the November 15, 2010 issue of Rolling Stone, Owl City announced the title of his third studio album, "All Things Bright & Beautiful". He also stated to "expect more guitar," and revealed the names of 3 tracks, "Deer in the Headlights," "The Honey and the Bee," and "Astronauts." The song "Deer in the Headlights" is expected to have "power chord blasts." The album is due to be released in Spring 2011.

On November 23, 2010, a new Christmas single called "Peppermint Winter" was released. A preview had been released the previous week on Facebook.

Musical styles and influences

Owl City has been stated to play within the musical genres of indietronica and alternative. Young has stated that he is inspired by disco and European electronic music.

Owl City also has been compared to The Postal Service, with a number of publications going as far as accusing Owl City of "ripping off" The Postal Service.

Ben Gibbard, lead singer/writer of both The Postal Service and Death Cab For Cutie has not stated anything about the musical resemblance in public. However, Chris Walla, the guitarist from Death Cab For Cutie, has stated that "Owl City should really consider buying Ben a pony."

Adam Young suggested in a 2009 interview with The New York Times that Owl City is perhaps the "next chapter" after The Postal Service: }}

Other projects

Young also produces music under a wide variety of other projects, some of which contain only a single song. These projects include Port Blue, Windsor Airlift, Dolphin Park, Insect Airport, Keehar, Seagull Orchestra, Sky Sailing and Swimming With Dolphins, among others.

Most of these projects were started before Owl City propelled Young to fame. Some are current side projects Adam is involved in. Some were formed alongside Adam's college friends as musical projects for a music course Young was studying at the time.

Concert tours

Discography

;Studio albums

Maybe I'm Dreaming (2008)

Ocean Eyes (2009)

All Things Bright & Beautiful (2011)

References

External links

Category:Musical groups from Minnesota Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American indie rock groups Category:Living people Category:American electronic music groups Category:American New Wave musical groups Category:American Christians

Name	Jonathan Coulton
Background	solo_singer
Born	December 01, 1970
Origin	Brooklyn, New York City
Instrument	Guitar, banjo, ukulele, zendrum, tenori-on
Genre	Folk rock, powerpop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2003–present
Associated acts	Paul and StormKristen ShirtsJohn HodgmanMolly LewisEllen McLainZe FrankRiffTraxThey Might Be Giants
Url	http://www.jonathancoulton.com/

Jonathan Coulton (born December 1, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, famous for his songs containing themes of geek culture as well as his rise to popularity through the use of the Internet. Among his most popular songs are "Re: Your Brains" and "Still Alive", the latter of which played over the end credits of the video game Portal (though he did not sing it).

A former computer programmer and self-described geek, Coulton tends to write quirky, witty lyrics about a variety of topics such as science fiction and technology: a man who thinks in simian terms, a mad scientist who falls in love with one of his captives, and the dangers of bacteria. He does not often write topical songs, but he did release a song titled "W's Duty", which sampled President George W. Bush, in 2005 and another called "Tom Cruise Crazy" in 2006. Most of Coulton's songs feature Coulton's vocals accompanied by guitar, bass, and drums, though they often feature the various other instruments Coulton plays, including accordion, harmonica, mandolin, banjo, ukulele, or glockenspiel.

Coulton graduated from Yale in 1993 and is a former member of the Yale Whiffenpoofs and the Yale Spizzwinks(?). He is now the Contributing Troubadour at Popular Science magazine, whose September 2005 issue was accompanied by a five-song set by him called Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms. He is also the Musical Director for The Little Gray Book Lectures.

Career

Coulton's best known works include his light-acoustic cover of the Sir Mix-a-Lot hit song "Baby Got Back" and original pieces such as "Still Alive", the theme song for the video game Portal, and "Code Monkey", which has been featured on Slashdot on April 23, 2006 as well as linked from the webcomic Penny Arcade. It was the theme song for an animated show on G4 called Code Monkeys. A video set to his song "Re: Your Brains" was a featured link on Good Morning Silicon Valley, and his work has also been featured on NPR's All Things Considered.

Coulton accompanied John Hodgman on his list of "700 Hobo Names" promotional track for Hodgman's book The Areas of My Expertise as the guitarist (he was referenced as "Jonathan William Coulton, the Colchester Kid" in said work). Coulton also can be heard throughout the audiobook version of the same book, playing the theme song to the book, playing incidental music, and at times engaging in witty banter with Hodgman, who reads the audio version of his work. Coulton has also been referenced in Hodgman's work with The Daily Show; a Jonathan Coulton of Colchester, Connecticut is Hodgman's pick to win an essay contest on overpowering Iraqi resistance to American invasion. The winning entry, as set to music, was then played on the program; this song, about dropping snakes from airplanes, was written and performed by Coulton. He also appeared on the tour for Hodgman's newest book, More Information Than You Require.

Coulton is credited as the composer of the title music for the show Mystery Diagnosis.

Coulton also has released other songs under "The Little Gray Book Lectures". In 2006, Coulton began touring with and co-wrote a song with comedy-duo Paul and Storm entitled "Your Love Is", which appeared on their album News to Us. They have since toured together almost exclusively, rarely appearing with any other artists.

Coulton wrote and performed a song titled "Still Alive" for the ending credits of Valve's 2007 video game Portal, with vocals by Ellen McLain. On April 1, 2008, Harmonix made this track available as free downloadable content for the game Rock Band. A version with Coulton's vocals was also included on the Orange Box Original Soundtrack, in addition to the one heard at the end of the game.

A DVD & CD of a concert performed February 22, 2008 at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco, entitled "Best. Concert. Ever." was released in 2009. At the concert, Coulton played the aforementioned song "Still Alive" on its Rock Band version, along with guest "musicians" and geek/celebrities Leo Laporte, Merlin Mann and Veronica Belmont.

Coulton also opened for They Might Be Giants for a few shows of their March 2010 tour.

Coulton had previously been working on his follow-up to the Thing a Week albums, tentatively titled 'The Aftermath.' It has since been stated that the title is merely an umbrella term to classify non-album tracks released after Thing a Week. On May 25, 2010 Coulton announced on his official site that he would indeed be working on a new album, to be produced by John Flansburgh of They Might Be Giants, and for the first time ever with a full band, including Marty Beller of They Might Be Giants, in a professional recording studio. They're scheduled to perform as a full band for a few shows before returning to New York to start recording the new album, for which a few new songs have already been written.

Licensing

As an Internet-based performing artist, Coulton has attracted a group of fans who promote him. Since Coulton uses the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial license, others are free to use his songs in their own noncommercial works. As a result, a number of music videos have been created using his songs, including such machinima as the ILL Clan's video for "Code Monkey".

Thing a Week

"Thing a Week" is the name that Coulton gave to a creative experiment which ran from September 16, 2005 to September 30, 2006. In this project, Coulton undertook to record 52 musical pieces in the course of a year, one each week. This target was achieved. The objectives were: (a) to push the artist's creative envelope by adopting what Coulton describes as a "forced-march approach to writing and recording"; (b) to prove to himself that he was capable of producing creative output to a deadline; and (c) to test the viability of the Internet and Creative Commons as a platform capable of supporting a professional artist financially. Early indications are that the experiment succeeded in generating a large number of high quality songs, boosting sales of music downloads, expanding Coulton's public presence and enlarging his fan base. The success of the financial objective is more difficult to judge, but Coulton was quoted in a September 2006 interview as stating that "in some parts of the country, I’d be making a decent living". In a February 25, 2008, interview with This Week in Tech, he stated that he made more money in 2007 than he did in his last year of working as a programmer, 40% of it from digital downloads and 40% from merchandise and performances.

Discography

Studio albums

Smoking Monkey (2003)

Where Tradition Meets Tomorrow (2004)

Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Cybernetic Arms (2005)

Thing a Week One (2006)

Thing a Week Two (2006)

Thing a Week Three (2006)

Thing a Week Four (2006)

Compilations

JoCo Looks Back (2008)

Best. Concert. Ever. (Live album - 2009)

Other releases

Other Experiments (Rarities Collection) (2005)

Unplugged (Live on Second Life) (2006)

The Orange Box Original Soundtrack (2007)

* 1. Still Alive (Sung by Ellen McLain)

* 19. Still Alive (Sung by Jonathan Coulton)

The Aftermath (2009)

Most of Coulton's songs are published on his website as MP3 and FLAC downloads. Many of them are free, and none of them are subject to digital rights management. All of his original songs fall under the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 License. "Still Alive" is the only exception to this, as Coulton assigned all rights for the song to Valve. Along with "Still Alive", Coulton's song "Re: Your Brains" appears in jukeboxes in Left 4 Dead 2, another game designed by Valve.

References

External links

Sex, Drugs and Updating Your Blog, a profile of Jonathan Coulton in the New York Times Magazine dated May 13, 2007.

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:American comedy musicians Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American bloggers Category:Yale University alumni Category:People from Brooklyn