ABBA, Roxette, Ace of Base, and Avicii to name just a few- Sweden’s music scene is rich and has produced a lot of famous musicians and composers over the last decades alone. The country’s enthusiasm (and success) for the Eurovision song contest reflects how culturally important music is in Sweden. Therefore, it is no surprise that the Scandinavian country has the largest music industry among the Nordic countries. But how do Swedes enjoy music and who is supplying the country with the newest hits?
Who is setting the tone on the market?
Among the biggest music publishers in Sweden are Warner Music Sweden AB, Sony Music Entertainment AB, and Universal Music AB. In the last years, Universal Music AB and Sony Music have been fighting for
the highest market shares, while smaller companies such as Playground Music Scandi AB or Border Music Distribution accumulate a smaller but consistent share. Some of the smaller companies such as
Kobald Music Scandinavia AB, who also produced some of superstar Avicii’s songs, still generate a significant and growing revenue stream. Considering the consumer side of the Swedish music market, Spotify plays the key role. The Stockholm-based streaming giant has been leading the music streaming market worldwide, as well as in Sweden, for the last couple of years.
The state of the Swedish music market
Over the past ten years, the Swedish music market grew significantly. In 2022, companies in this industry generated
revenues of more than two billion Swedish kronor with recorded music sales. Ten years before, the amount was almost half as much.
Digital music, and in particular streaming services, accounted for the
highest share of music sales in Sweden. Over 94 percent of the revenue was generated through streaming as of 2022. By contrast, CDs and vinyl accounted for three percent each of the total recorded music sales.
How do Swedes consume music?
Using music streaming services increased correspondingly. According to a survey from 2022, more than half of Swedish respondents stated to
stream or download music on a daily basis. Compared to ten years previously, this was a growth of 26 percent.
Another survey from 2023 found that across all age groups
streaming and downloading significantly increased over the last five years.
CDs or streams?
Over the last years, digital music consumption has taken over the Swedish music market, while physical formats have suffered under this development. However, CDs and Vinyls have made an unexpected comeback on the global market. In the next couple of years it will be interesting to observe whether this trend will also assert itself in a music culture rich country such as Sweden.
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