The first Stockholm Music Week will take place April 22–29, a new international meeting point for the music industry and other key stakeholders. The initiative is led by industry veteran Johan Seidefors in collaboration with Ifpi, Stim, Stockholm Business Region, and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
”Sweden is a country of 10 million people and one of only four net music-exporting nations in the world. The country has four times more songwriters per capita than the UK, and Swedish writers and producers have shaped global pop for three decades. Stockholm is where Spotify was born, where Epidemic Sound grew into a platform reaching billions of daily plays, and where a new generation of music-tech companies is scaling. And yet, the conversations shaping the industry’s future have until now taken place elsewhere.”
So begins the description of Stockholm Music Week, a brand-new international music industry conference and forum that will take place April 22–29 this year.
The initiator is Johan Seidefors, well-known to most in the music industry from his various roles at Sony, TV4, and perhaps most notably, Spotify. Other founding partners include Stim, Ifpi Sweden, Stockholm Business Region, and the Stockholm Chamber of Commerce.
Additional partners include Spotify, YouTube, Dolby, Universal Music Group, Sony Music Sweden, Warner Music Sweden, Musikförläggarna (The Swedish Music Publishers Association), the Swedish Institute, Export Music Sweden, SSE House of Innovation, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Fryshuset, and the Tim Bergling Foundation.
The team behind the week also includes Casper Schaber, Thérèse Wall, Sanna Verner-Carlsson, and Oscar Samuelsson from the agency 500.
The background to Stockholm Music Week is a long-standing need for a major international meeting place for the industry that can further cement Sweden’s position on the global music map. The goal is to create a hub where industry professionals can meet with politicians and other vital stakeholders, uniting an industry that sometimes can feel quite fragmented.
Stockholm Music Week acts as a complement to existing industry conferences in Sweden, such as Viva Sounds in Gothenburg (December) and Live at Heart in Örebro (September). The objective is to establish Stockholm as ”the capital of music” and showcase the ”epicenter of music” that Stockholm and Sweden represent.
Johan Seidefors told MI:
— There is so much to be said about why this initiative is needed, as well as the timing and potential. The core idea is validated by the incredibly positive and warm reception the initiative has received, and the investments our partners have made both financially and through their commitment. It feels so exciting to hear from basically everyone I meet that Stockholm is on the move—it’s bubbling. Zara Larsson, Yung Lean, Robyn, Elvira Anderfjärd, Max Martin and the whole of MXM, and now Olga Myko.
— The city, the political sphere, and the business community see the clear value and, above all, the potential of what this can evolve into. The music industry recognizes the importance of Stockholm remaining a hub for ideas, visions, and dreams at the forefront of the global curve. Stockholm shouldn’t compete in volume, but we have proven time and again that we are at the absolute forefront regarding creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship. And we are the best at collaboration!
The main hub for the week is the Slakthusområdet district, but events will take place at various locations across Stockholm, including a number of side events throughout the week. More program highlights will be added during spring.
Stockholm Music Week kicks off with a dinner on April 22, followed by a wide range of sessions, including:
Sweden in the World: A day focusing on Swedish music exports, including the presentation of the Government’s Music Export Prize.
The Future of Music: A conference at the Stockholm School of Economics (SSE) featuring Google and YouTube, where Harvard Business School will also launch a new research project focused on AI and music.
Creative Playground: A full day hosted with Fryshuset Musik, inviting younger creators (ages 15–29) to workshops and sessions with Swedish-based companies like Teenage Engineering and Marshall.
The Value of Music: A full-day conference arranged with Stim, covering music as geopolitical power, the relationship between Sweden and South Korea, what Stockholm needs to stay competitive, and more.
Streaming, Discovery & the Artist Perspective: A conference at Slakthusområdet arranged together with Spotify.
Stockholm Music Week concludes with the Grammis Awards, held at Annexet on April 29.
While some events during this inaugural year are by invitation only, most sessions will be open for registration. MI will be on-site during Stockholm Music Week to cover several of the events.
For more information and the full program, visit: www.stockholmmusicweek.se
Daniel Johansson
daniel@musikindustrin.se
