The DJs that rule the earth

In 2012 Rolling Stone published an article with the headline The DJs that rule the earth where top three was held by two Swedes – Avicii and Swedish House Mafia. It’s been a long way since 1974 when ABBA had won Eurovision in a time when nobody when nobody had heard of Swedish music. Forty years later we are talking about a nation of 9.5 million producing music exports worth more than 168 million Euros.

Sweden is one of the biggest exporters of music in the world. More precisely, the proceeds of exports of music are the highest in the world relative the number of inhabitants. A glance across genres will reveal a Swede or two at the top of nearly every chart imaginable: Avicii (dance), In Flames (metal), Robyn (pop), Ann Sofie von Otter (opera), Lykke Li (indie), Yohio (visual rock) and The Hives (rock), to name but a few. In December 2011 Swedish House Mafia was the first electronic dance act to sell out the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York.

Read more in The Art of Living magazine printed edition