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Why Swedish pop is the best in the world
http://www.thelocal.se/50518/20130930/
Why Swedish pop is the best in the world
Published: 30 Sep 2013 14:31 CET
There's nothing better than Swedish pop, argues The Local's Paul Connolly, who reveals the secrets behind Swedes' musical success - whether via songs written for Britney Spears or from home-grown talent that's gone big abroad.
Swedish pop music is the best in the world. Don't believe me? Consider these facts. Sweden is the largest exporter of pop music per capita in the world. In fact, regardless of population, Sweden is currently the third largest exporter of music in the world, just behind the US and the UK. In 2010, it is estimated that Swedish pop music exports totalled more than $820 million.
Want more? So far in 2013, Swedes have been responsible, or partially responsible, for 34 US top ten hits and 32 UK top ten hits. A Swede, Tim Bergling, otherwise known as Avicii, currently has two songs in the UK top ten and one in the US top ten. His debut album, True, is in the top ten in both countries.
This is on the back of similar recent global success achieved by Swedish House Mafia and The Local-tipped Icona Pop. Swedish songwriters, meanwhile, write for everyone from Madonna to Taylor Swift. Max Martin (known to his mum as Karl Martin Sandberg) has written an incredible 16 US number ones (including Britney Spears's Hit Me Baby... One More Time and Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl), while Nadir Khayat aka "RedOne", who moved to Sweden in his teens because "There was so much good music coming from there", has been the production force behind hits from Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, and One Direction.
It's an extraordinary achievement for a country of just nine million people - so how the hell do the Swedes do it?
Philip Ekström, lead singer of Swedish band The Mary Onettes, believes it is due to artistic integrity.
<snip>
Also Sweden actively encourages prospective musicians through its education system; children are not sneered at for wanting to be musicians, instead their ambitions are supported and bolstered. A large part of the education in the pre school years is taken up with music and singing. By the time they start school at age seven, kids have learned a great deal about singing and rhythm. Furthermore, many Swedes join choir groups in their teens, regardless of gender or religious affiliation. Sweden boasts the highest number of choirs per capita in the world - a startling 15 percent of Swedes sing in choirs.
<snip>
Why Swedish pop is the best in the world
Published: 30 Sep 2013 14:31 CET
There's nothing better than Swedish pop, argues The Local's Paul Connolly, who reveals the secrets behind Swedes' musical success - whether via songs written for Britney Spears or from home-grown talent that's gone big abroad.
Swedish pop music is the best in the world. Don't believe me? Consider these facts. Sweden is the largest exporter of pop music per capita in the world. In fact, regardless of population, Sweden is currently the third largest exporter of music in the world, just behind the US and the UK. In 2010, it is estimated that Swedish pop music exports totalled more than $820 million.
Want more? So far in 2013, Swedes have been responsible, or partially responsible, for 34 US top ten hits and 32 UK top ten hits. A Swede, Tim Bergling, otherwise known as Avicii, currently has two songs in the UK top ten and one in the US top ten. His debut album, True, is in the top ten in both countries.
This is on the back of similar recent global success achieved by Swedish House Mafia and The Local-tipped Icona Pop. Swedish songwriters, meanwhile, write for everyone from Madonna to Taylor Swift. Max Martin (known to his mum as Karl Martin Sandberg) has written an incredible 16 US number ones (including Britney Spears's Hit Me Baby... One More Time and Katy Perry’s I Kissed A Girl), while Nadir Khayat aka "RedOne", who moved to Sweden in his teens because "There was so much good music coming from there", has been the production force behind hits from Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Enrique Iglesias, and One Direction.
It's an extraordinary achievement for a country of just nine million people - so how the hell do the Swedes do it?
Philip Ekström, lead singer of Swedish band The Mary Onettes, believes it is due to artistic integrity.
<snip>
Also Sweden actively encourages prospective musicians through its education system; children are not sneered at for wanting to be musicians, instead their ambitions are supported and bolstered. A large part of the education in the pre school years is taken up with music and singing. By the time they start school at age seven, kids have learned a great deal about singing and rhythm. Furthermore, many Swedes join choir groups in their teens, regardless of gender or religious affiliation. Sweden boasts the highest number of choirs per capita in the world - a startling 15 percent of Swedes sing in choirs.
<snip>
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