Swedish music market grows 12% in the first half of 2013

The recent flurry of brilliant Swedish musical acts has today been backed up by facts and statistics, with it revealed that music sales in the country have increased by 12 percent in the first half of 2013.

According to IFPI/GFL data, the overall record market increased from just over SEK 446 million in sales in 2012 to nearly SEK 500 million in 2013.

Digital sales have increased by 33 percent compared to the same time last year and now makes up for 75 percent of all sales. 94 percent of digital sales now come from streaming music services, while 6 percent come from downloads. Physical sales have fallen by 24 percent during the period and now represent only 25 percent of all sales.

This boost in the Scandi market has been attributed to the popularity of artists such as Icona Pop (pictured above), as well as strong growth in usage of streaming services like the country’s own homegrown platform Spotify.

Ludvig Werner, CEO, IFPI Sweden, has commented on the country’s sale increase:

“The strong growth seen in 2012 is continuing in 2013, and the fact that Swedish consumers prefer streaming is clearer than ever. Overall, these are very positive figures and show that the music industry is more prosperous than for several years.”

Sales of vinyl has also increased by 50 percent in the first half of the year.

Read our article on the best of recent female-fronted Nordic pop here.

[via Music Week]