Sweden has dictated fashion in the global music industry for over 40 years. Besides, it does this in many genres: pop, rock, techno, electronics, and many others.
The Swedish authors, producers, and sound producers have a hand in many of the songs that lead the charts around the world. How does a country that has a population of 10 million barely deliver hits to the whole world? From early childhood, little Swedes are taught to love music. Researchers, musicologists, see the main reason for the success of the local industry in music schools. The success of such groups as ABBA, Roxette, Ace of Base, Swedish house mafia motivated young performers and they realized that they could be no worse.
The state provided free access to music classes and instruments. A child could try many of them until s/he found one`s talent for anyone. Most Swedes have an ear for music and a good voice and sing in the amateur choruses. There are about 500 of them, in which 600 thousand people sing. Sweden is the one and only have so many vocal bands.
The government encourages Swedes to make music and contribute to the development of the music market. To that end, there is a special government award, performers who have achieved the enormous success not only in the Swedish but also on the world stage receive. The National Council for Cultural Affairs annually allocates about a billion crowns (approximately 110 million euros) to the best young artists. The original hitmakers in world music were and are the Swedes. Max Martin created songs for Usher, Britney Spears, Backstreet Boys, N`Sync, Taylor Swift, Pink, and Katy Perry. Johan "Shellback" Schuster - the author of more than two dozen hits, twice Grammy Award winner, most memorable collaboration with Maroon 5. RedOne (alias Nadira Hayat), is also not the last person in the Swedish music industry. In addition to working with local artists, he also worked closely with One Direction, Pitbull, Nicki Minaj, and Lady Gaga.
Many Swedish artists belong to specific labels, and some have their own indie companies. The singer Robyn in 2005 founded the label Konichiwa Records, which is fully engaged in its activities and promotion. Rebstar rapper has a record company, and today Is Vintage Records. And the integrated community INGRID unites thirteen independent singers and musicians, including the notorious Lykke Li.
Also, the Swedes are the pioneers of promoting music on the Internet. They founded the well-known service for distributing SoundCloud music. DJ Avicii created X You - perhaps the most extensive online studio in the world. And music through the streaming service Spotify has listened to all over the world - from the USA and Canada to Japan and Australia.
Melodifestivalen, Sweden's most significant music competition and the highest rated show in the country, also influences the local industry. It is so popular that it is almost in the rank of a national religion. For six weeks, the whole country has been watching the birth of new stars. The average annual audience is around five million people. Concerning the percentage of all TV viewers, Melodifestivalen even outscored the US baseball final - Superbowl. No country in the world has such a favorite television show. The winner of this musical battle represents Sweden at the international Eurovision Song Contest. For Eurovision, for all of its nearly 60-year history of participation, Sweden has won 6 times and lagged regarding the number of victories only from Ireland - it has seven victories.
According to the Swedish researcher Ola Johansson, the reason is not in biology or harsh climate. To claim that the Swedes write excellent music due to spending a lot of time at home is as if to say that Seattle became the capital of alternative rock in the 1990s because it rains there all the right time.
Let us sum up
The skill of the Swedes in producing beautiful music of high quality is not a genetic factor that is passed down from one generation to another with light hair and azure eyes. Johansson is sure that in no other country there is a correct mixture of knowledge of the language, items of cultural value, a cohesive field formed and state support, which at the end transforms into a phenomenal musical exporter, like Sweden. Therefore, when you sing along with Ace of Base - The Sign next time, do not treat this as just a nostalgic trace of the past few decades. Think and realize that this song is a rejoice of an integrated geopolitical system.
Article Contributed By Melisa Maezett:
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