Sweden is also one of the most successful countries at the music competition show Eurovision Song Contest (ESC), with six victories so far. Only Ireland recorded more winnings. The popularity of the music show in Sweden is also obvious when looking at the audience of Melodifestivalen, the preliminary round of the ESC. Since 1959, the TV show, which determines the country’s representative, has been seen by millions of people. During the past years, over two thirds of the Swedish population have watched at least one of the show’s main broadcasts. In 2020, the final drew over 3.2 million TV viewers.
Over the past ten years, the Swedish music market grew significantly. In 2019, companies in this industry generated revenues of more than 1.5 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 90 percent of the revenue was generated through streaming as of 2019. By contrast, CDs and vinyl accounted for 3.5 percent each of the total recorded music sales.
Using music streaming services increased correspondingly. According to a survey from 2019, more than half of Swedish respondents stated to stream or download music on a daily basis. Compared to the previous year, this was a growth of ten percent. Another survey from the first quarter of 2020 found that roughly 54 percent of Swedes streamed or downloaded the same amount as the year before. Additionally, roughly a fifth of individuals interviewed spent more time with this medium than the year before. The most important factors when listening to online music were the quality of sound, ease of making a playlist, as well as the price.
