Features
Nordic Recorded Market Falls
Having outpunched its weight for a number of years and produced more talent than its population suggested it could, the Swedish recorded music market has mirrored its Norwegian neighbor by taking a tumble.
Photo: Scanpix Sweden, Leo Sellen, File/AP
Boarding his tour bus outside Grand Hotel in Stockholm, Sweden.
Both Nordic territories have seen the value of their business fall, largely because sales from new media aren’t compensating for a decline in CD sales.
Recent figures show the Scandinavian region has all but won its battle against the illegal downloading of music, but physical albums sales haven’t reflected that victory.
Total record sales in Sweden in 2014 fell 0.4 percent from 991.2 million Swedish krona ($119.6 million) to 987 SKR ($119 million), but physical sales crashed 38 percent from $27.6 million to $18.3 million.
Vinyl sales increased by 46.5 percent to $2.5 million, but in Sweden vinyl sales amount to only 2.1 percent of the market. The Swedish arm of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry doesn’t give exact CD sales figures, but experts estimate CD album sales dropped a huge 38 percent.
“In 2014 revenue from streaming music services continued to increase and now accounts for 79 percent of total revenue – the highest percentage in the world,” said IFPI Sweden chief exec Ludvig Werner. “We are positive about the market in 2015, with an expectation of continued growth for streaming services.”