Why Sweden is so damn good at Pop Music

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  • čas přidán 19. 05. 2024
  • Sweden is the only country besides the US and the UK that exports more music than it imports. Legendary bands like ABBA, Roxette and Ace of Base come from the small country in the north. The successful songwriter Max Martin wrote all the big hits of the nineties, DJ Avicii was also Swedish. And even the most successful streaming service Spotify was invented here. Why is this country so incredibly good when it comes to pop music?
    A film by Matthias Schwarzer.
    ▪️ 0:00 - Intro
    ▪️ 2:55 - The Cheiron story
    ▪️ 7:02 - The Avicii story
    ▪️ 10:06 - The ABBA story
    ▪️ 12:02 - The Spotify story
    ▪️ 15:06 - Why is Sweden so good at music?
    ▪️ 15:50 - Early music education
    ▪️ 17:15 - Music in society & media
    ▪️ 18:39 - Sweden's internationality
    ▪️ 20:20 - Swedish English
    ▪️ 22:57 - Sweden's melancholic melodies
    ▪️ 25:30 - Outro
    --------------------------------
    Here's the Spotify playlist with all the songs I mentioned in the video:
    open.spotify.com/playlist/29j...
    --------------------------------
    Did you like this video? Support my work on Patreon:
    / matthiasschwarzer
    Or become a channel member on CZcams!
    --------------------------------
    ▪️INSTAGRAM:
    / matthiasschwarzer
    ▪️FACEBOOK:
    / matthiasschwarzertrave...
    ▪️TIKTOK:
    / matthiasschwarzertravel
    ▪️CONTACT:
    post@matthias-schwarzer.de
    --------------------------------
    Intro Song:
    MÆT - Start Again
    Music:
    Epidemic Sound
    Photos:
    The Avicii picture in the thumbnail is from The Perfect World Foundation licensed under CC BY 3.0.
    de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avicii#...
    The ABBA picture was taken by me in the ABBA museum.
    #sweden #music #stockholm #abba #avicii #roxette #aceofbase #maxmartin
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Komentáře • 72

  • @MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish
    @MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish  Před 6 měsíci +3

    Thanks for watching! Here's more you might like:
    ▪ The Myth behind the Beatles Crosswalk: czcams.com/video/ivHbJbU6uGc/video.htmlsi=UqVONrvar4Ed8gR6
    ▪ How Sweden switched to Right-Hand-Traffic: czcams.com/video/rzoIL5cyy5U/video.htmlsi=tbAIK50E7IMyxwuR
    ▪ Exploring Astrid Lindgren's Hometown in Sweden: czcams.com/video/YhUZlWd7zTY/video.htmlsi=fAAcv0hCIdMfIyUf

    • @fransz9812
      @fransz9812 Před 6 měsíci +1

      Im swedish and I didnt now this lore of sweeden😂😂

  • @Algabatz
    @Algabatz Před 6 měsíci +24

    Not to mention Swedish world wide famous hard rock and metal bands: Europe, Yngwie Malmsteen, Candlemass, Bathory, Ice Age, Entombed, At the Gates, Refused, Clawfinger, Dark Tranquility, In Flames, Meshuggah, Arch Enemy, Hammerfall, Opeth, Ghost, Amon Amarth, Sabaton and Watain.

    • @erikbongnilsson246
      @erikbongnilsson246 Před 29 dny +1

      speaking of hard rock.. I don't know if you are from Sweden or not, but I was so pissed the other year when Sweden had a great hard rock song competing for Eurovision, but instead it was voted down like a piece of shit, when in my opinion it was absolutely one of the best contenders.. The song Runaways with Eclips czcams.com/video/SRhCWtfobw4/video.html Sometimes it feels like there is a pact or something to make sure not to vote the bests songs but rather to send something to make sure we DON'T win, because we just can't afford to host Eurovision in Sweden to often lol

    • @Carloshache
      @Carloshache Před 21 dnem

      I'm Swedish and all those are absolutely horrible.

    • @Algabatz
      @Algabatz Před 21 dnem

      @@Carloshache 😂 Du kanske är mer en Vikingarna-pojke?

  • @nomusician4737
    @nomusician4737 Před 5 měsíci +18

    As a Swedish musician and producer this documentary warms my heart. My take is that the two biggest reasons by far is the music schools and maybe even more or folk music history. You can hear traces from those melodies in virtually every single billboard top 100 written or co-written by a swede. Those melodies are so deeply rooted in our culture that most people don't realise it until they start looking for it. About Abba it is worth noting that Benny is very prolific in the Swedish folk music scene as well and play the accordion at all the big folk music festivals. Language and internationalism is of course super important, but to me is to be able get the music on the world stage, not how it sounds.

    • @TheUffeess
      @TheUffeess Před 4 měsíci

      Du ger ett svar till en tysk. Hur ska han förstå?

  • @mrpetit2
    @mrpetit2 Před 6 měsíci +16

    As a journalist you have excellent documenatry skills.
    Your channel deserves way more subscribers/views.
    I've been following your channel since your first video about that border dispute (I'm dutch😅), and your content is very diverse, yet always interesting due to the storyline you give it.
    That video about the swedish lhd-rhd switch was also very good.

    • @SievertSchreiber
      @SievertSchreiber Před 6 měsíci

      Same, also got recommended the Eems/Dollard border dispute video.

  • @ahha6304
    @ahha6304 Před 6 měsíci +7

    Your content is getting better everytime Matzi, keep up the good work!

  • @novineux1246
    @novineux1246 Před měsícem +2

    You should've mentioned epidemic sound as well. Swedes have tried to get around copyright by creating a company that creates music you can use in youtube videos for example.

  • @davewatson7004
    @davewatson7004 Před 6 měsíci +8

    Great video Matthias, however ABBA didn't win Melodifestivalen with Ring Ring. They were 3rd with it in 1973 when Agnetha was heavily pregnant.

    • @JBobjork
      @JBobjork Před 6 měsíci +1

      Yes, I was going to comment this too. If they won then Abba would have been in ESC already in 1972.

    • @MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish
      @MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish  Před 6 měsíci +4

      You‘re right - sorry for that.

  • @4rkang31
    @4rkang31 Před 6 měsíci +5

    As you mentioned, English is not *deine Mutterspache*, but "chord" in English is pronounced more like: "Kord".
    I am also learning Deutsch, so I thought I'd show off some of my vocabulary.

    • @MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish
      @MatthiasSchwarzerEnglish  Před 6 měsíci +1

      Haha, yeah. That's exactly what I was talking about. 😛

    • @rogink
      @rogink Před 6 měsíci +2

      I was thinking - his pronunciation is excellent - until that point! Matthias' enunciation is very clear and precise, always enjoyable to listen to.

  • @simke123
    @simke123 Před 3 měsíci

    Thank you for the video.

  • @juanitooctavio9023
    @juanitooctavio9023 Před 6 měsíci +2

    The main reason for our musical success, is free municipal music school. 🎸🎹🎤🎶

  • @birgittae9046
    @birgittae9046 Před 5 měsíci +1

    Thanks Matthias this was a very interesting and informative video! Well done! 🙋‍♀️🎶🎶

  • @mlouahdi
    @mlouahdi Před 4 měsíci +2

    I appreciate the effort in this video, thank you

  • @viktorberg5921
    @viktorberg5921 Před 4 měsíci +1

    Viele lieben Dank für das großartige Video!

  • @tinovanderzwanphonocave544
    @tinovanderzwanphonocave544 Před 4 měsíci +3

    one artist from Sweden is often forgotten on the international stage but he was Sweden's Elvis!
    I'm referring to Cornelis Vreeswijk like me he was born in the netherlands and his family emigrated to Sweden where at a point he became a big name in music although he would become Sweden's superstar only after his death in 1987 Cornelis had a rockstar life so he died young at age 50 if you talk about Cornelis on the streets of anywhere in Sweden everyone knows him.
    I had a very close contact online with his son Jack Vreeswijk a Swedish rockstar in his own right he could write Duch so we had fun together.
    jack died early last year also quite young at age 59, during the Swedish big freeze a week back I was worried about his family so I contacted them and I'm glad they are fine.

  • @cheeseparis1
    @cheeseparis1 Před 6 měsíci +2

    Thanks! Loved your video, makes me want to go back to Stockholm! It's a beautiful city and I enjoyed an amazing Parsifal at the opera house, they have great singers there too.

  • @gregorjorg
    @gregorjorg Před 6 měsíci +3

    I love your videos and I hope you make a lot more. You present interesting things with good details and great visuals. Also, you did several in Scandinavia, so I'm happy :)
    Just one thing... it's pronounced Kords and not chords ;)

  • @Nekotaku_TV
    @Nekotaku_TV Před 5 měsíci +1

    Crazy to not mention the TV show Så ska det låta.
    I agree with your take and the things you brought up, it all makes sense. Great video.

  • @tyan_ldn
    @tyan_ldn Před 3 měsíci

    Thoroughly enjoyed ❤

  • @simonlundkvist3476
    @simonlundkvist3476 Před 2 měsíci

    good video!

  • @danfarrik
    @danfarrik Před 6 měsíci +3

    Fantastic video. Thank you. And to think that you didn’t even touch the heavy metal scene, where Sweden has had an equally unproportional impact on the world.

  • @erikbongnilsson246
    @erikbongnilsson246 Před 29 dny

    Congratulations! Very impressive for a relatively new channel to pump out such a high quality piece of video, I really enjoyed it! I never comment on videos, and if I do it's only because I want to add some "fun facts" to other people watching or to answer other comments. I have nothing to add this time other to express my admiration when noticing that this video was produced by a channel with 10 000 subscriber.. Dear I say you might be the Max Martin of future youtube ;) well done, and good luck in the coming 2024 Eurovision song contest! What's your opinion of Germany's contribution this year? I haven't heard any others than our Swedish contribution, and I can say I feel it sucks this year and we absolutely did not vote forward the of songs

  • @erik....
    @erik.... Před 6 měsíci +2

    I played drums in school but unfortunately I wasn't a great fit as I'm quite shy. I wish they would have taken personality into account as well then the swedish music wonder could have been even bigger. Well, I guess that, or given me more support and lessons on how to play in front of a crowd.

  • @Red_Skies
    @Red_Skies Před 6 měsíci +1

    Interesting!

  • @TheUffeess
    @TheUffeess Před 4 měsíci +1

    Nice to see a German value Swedish music. It is all about two things, culture and the opportunity to practice music. Then Swedes are independent and determined. And if you have more music than just "ompa ompa", it's good...

  • @Carloshache
    @Carloshache Před 21 dnem +1

    Wow... very good analysis from an outsiders perspective. Even though there's some great Swedish pop magic from time to time, the Swedish music business has been criticized alot of being just a very effective commercial money machine which produces a lot of bland mediocre "too perfect" pop stuff and too many one-hit-wonders. This is why alot of Eurovision fans has turned on Swedish-written songs. They are boring.
    Swedish music is much wider than this pop music and since the 1960's counterculture, there's been a huge alternative scene, with countless genres, which is a big factor in the success story. Many of these Swedish bands started out jamming in the their schools replokal (rehearsal space) on school instruments after school, as there was not much to do in the countless small towns across the sparsely populated country.
    Many Swedes also got to try their hands in broadcasting as a Swedish law "Närradiolagen" provides every municipality with a local radio station which basically everyone has the right to transmit from, which is why Sweden has countless college radio stations. Things like that definitely provided infrastructure and talent to a big music business. And that's also a thing Swedes are pretty good at: business.

  • @SievertSchreiber
    @SievertSchreiber Před 6 měsíci +3

    Boten Anna was a nice surprise!

    • @mikaelowe8430
      @mikaelowe8430 Před 6 měsíci +1

      avicii was more famous then basshunter

    • @_loss_
      @_loss_ Před 3 měsíci

      @@mikaelowe8430 ok?

  • @RosaMannen
    @RosaMannen Před 6 měsíci +1

    Ring Ring was in Melodifestivalen 1973 and it didn't win. It came third.

  • @nikhum322
    @nikhum322 Před 6 měsíci

    Well. Matthias, I must say that you have figured it out.
    We produce a lot of music here in Sweden, and for the reasons you mention a lot of it is succesful but no one seems to knoe why.
    So I hope that in your next video, You share the results of your investigations and answer the question in the title to this one.

  • @user-bm6fb5qv4x
    @user-bm6fb5qv4x Před 6 měsíci +2

    And honestly... If you want to know about Swedish Melancholia. Listen to Kent. I think though they are the best band the world has ever produced.

  • @Fibonacci64
    @Fibonacci64 Před 6 měsíci

    Good analysis. I guess Dr. Alban was big in Germany? Not many people talking about him here in Sweden, except as a joke. Same goes for other artists mentioned.

  • @user-hg1vh3mq9u
    @user-hg1vh3mq9u Před 3 měsíci

    The author of the video, first study the information about the performers and producers well, and then tell others. Dennis did not produce all the Ace of Base songs from the first album "Happy Nation" in 1992, he produced only one song, "All That She Wants", from this album. And in general, he produced only 6 songs from Ace of Base for all time: "All That She Wants", "The Sign", "Beautiful Life", "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry", "Lucky Love", "Blooming 18". And you showed the Ace of Base album cover in a 1998 video called "Flowers". Denniz PoP has nothing to do with this album, because, unfortunately, he had died by that time.

  • @ThePussukka
    @ThePussukka Před 5 měsíci +1

    Chord is pronounced "khord" and not "tshord" btw

  • @Frahamen
    @Frahamen Před 6 měsíci +1

    Don't forget Lil' Pitchy

  • @give_me_my_nick_back
    @give_me_my_nick_back Před 6 měsíci

    That's a news to me haha Only Swedish musicians I can think of are ABBA and Basshunter

    • @mikaelowe8430
      @mikaelowe8430 Před 6 měsíci

      then you have missed naming loads more that are just as famous as those

  •  Před 6 měsíci

    Ring Ring came third in Melodifestivalen :)

  • @danvernier198
    @danvernier198 Před 2 měsíci

    These answers probably all contribute but they're all very focused on the music industry specifically while the trend hold rue for pretty much all creative production, such as your own job as a youtuber, there are more of those as well, it's not even limited to just cultural creative work but extends to engineering and science too. The trend going beyond music can't be be explained by these answers. Another contributing factor could be found in the economic, social and hierarchic structure. Showing status and "keeping up with the joneses" if frowned upon while falling behind in career or economy is pretty harmless. The lack of social pressure to perform in the socioeconomic hierarchy of Sweden leaves individuals adrift to pursue random interests which allows them to be creative. It is a culture that considers the person who spends a lot of money on an expensive vehicle to show off more suspect than the person who revives the mechanical music genre on CZcams by spending his time building an absurd ball machine.

  • @swecol1992
    @swecol1992 Před 5 měsíci

    🇸🇪💪🏻

  • @kkantu8246
    @kkantu8246 Před 6 měsíci +1

    i love germans and especially you!

  • @Sorenzo
    @Sorenzo Před 5 měsíci

    Chord is pronounced "kord"

  • @Gsoda35
    @Gsoda35 Před 6 měsíci +1

    Japanese pop music is also quite good. have a look.

    • @mikaelowe8430
      @mikaelowe8430 Před 6 měsíci +1

      no its not its absolutely crap you really have bad taste in music
      the only countries that make good pop music is sweden, usa and england with sweden being the number 1 cause sweden has made all pop music from the early 70s untill today that is playing on the radio and on tv channels like mtv cause all pop songs are made by swedish songwriters and producers
      like max martin,shellback,redone, andreas carlsson and several other swedish songwriters and producers that work with these 4 guys
      1. Sweden
      2. usa
      3. england

    • @Gsoda35
      @Gsoda35 Před 6 měsíci

      @@mikaelowe8430 that would be true to those who think so. you sure are limiting yourself then.
      I enjoy it a lot.

    • @Nekotaku_TV
      @Nekotaku_TV Před 5 měsíci

      @@mikaelowe8430 Hahaha. J-pop is huge and one of my favorite genres.

    • @leathebarbie
      @leathebarbie Před 6 dny

      @@mikaelowe8430and Japan makes better pop music thank Korea

  • @rogink
    @rogink Před 6 měsíci

    You mentioned controversy over Spotify's royalty payments, but many people think they are responsible for the death of music.
    Where are the big artists from the last 15-20 years? OK, you have a lot of solo performers like Taylor Swift, Adele, Ed Sheeran, Beyonce. But would Beyonce have started on her own today instead of with Destiny's Child? And the big bands from pre-2000 are still going strong - e.g. U2, Stones.
    So yes, Sweden has blessed us with some fantastic pop music, but I wonder if they will still export music as streaming grows.

  • @user-bm6fb5qv4x
    @user-bm6fb5qv4x Před 6 měsíci +1

    Amazing! But you should have mentioned Kent. The most loved band in Sweden even more than ABBA. Only fault from their side was they did not sing in English. Otherwise they would have been like the Beatles. All my friends in the US were obsessed by Kent.

    • @alvdansen7172
      @alvdansen7172 Před 6 měsíci

      The fact that Kent chose to sing in swedish is why they are loved, they are the band in swedish that swedes love to listen to, swedes usually don't listen to music in sweden if it's in swedish. Kent even in swedish were loved outside Sweden and Sweden can be proud of that.

    • @mikaelowe8430
      @mikaelowe8430 Před 6 měsíci

      there is also a rock band called takida and europe that is very good to and they are also from sweden

    • @mikaelowe8430
      @mikaelowe8430 Před 6 měsíci +2

      this line you said The most loved band in Sweden even more than ABBA is abosulutely wrong and incorrect cause kent was NOT loved more then abba cause it was the other way around abba was the most loved band in sweden and in the hole world
      do you understand that?

  • @mrsonor1090
    @mrsonor1090 Před 4 měsíci

    Your facts are wrong, about Swemix, Denniz Pop and Cherion studio. If you got so much wrong at the start, I'm sure you got more wrong later but I couldn't watch anymore. Bye

    • @_loss_
      @_loss_ Před 3 měsíci

      What was he wrong about? I can't point out anything he was wrong about regarding the studio perhaps maybe some continually error, but that's such a small inconsequential detail.

    • @applemos6714
      @applemos6714 Před 28 dny

      Explain what’s wrong and provided sources supporting your argument. Don’t just say it’s wrong.

  • @eswarjuri
    @eswarjuri Před 6 měsíci

    Dein Englisch ist ja echt besser als du denkst, aber „Tschords“ statt „Kords“ schmerzt als jemand, der selbst Musik macht, schon echt sehr! 😂

  • @EDM_IDss
    @EDM_IDss Před 5 měsíci

    Swede is Europen Korea