The country that gave the world ABBA punches far above its weight in global pop music. In early April, Zara Larsson was the fourth-biggest female artist on Spotify, behind Taylor Swift, Olivia Dean, and Raye. The month prior, Larsson had become the first Swedish artist to top the Billboard Global 200. Her fans were delighted. So were Swedes.
Sweden’s music industry is a clear example of soft power. An army of Swedish songwriters and producers appear in the credits of pop hits. Max Martin has written more chart-toppers than anyone except Paul McCartney. The Swedish House Mafia, Avicii, and Robyn are household names.
With a population of just 10.6 million people, Sweden is one of four net music exporters, alongside Britain, the United States, and South Korea. The question is what kind of system produces such recurring success. That is why Stockholm, Sweden’s capital, is building the cultural infrastructure to cement its soft power.
CREATIVE REUSE
On April 29, the inaugural Stockholm Music Week (SMW) finished in Slakthusområdet, the former meatpacking district where Stockholm now concentrates more of its creative economy in one place. Founded by former Spotify executive Johan Seidefors, SMW united decision-makers from music, tech, government, and academia to discuss where music goes next.
There were discussions on the future of creativity, attended by Google DeepMind and YouTube. Grammy-nominated songwriter Patrik Berger said AI is “a boxing partner,” not a stand-in for human musical talent. AI is “bigger in its philosophical implications than the synth or the drum machine, even if equally unstoppable,” said ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus. SMW came as Stockholm is transforming the meatpacking district into a vibrant cultural destination, part of a city-wide bet on music as an engine of urban renewal.
Slakthusområdet, the unusual Art Nouveau former slaughterhouse, opened in 1912. When industry began to move outside the city center in the late 20th century, vast spaces were left behind with urban grit ripe for repurposing.
New offices, houses, and restaurants will support the workforce that sustains the creative economy, while adaptive reuse of buildings preserves Slakthusområdet’s industrial heritage. The vision replicates the logic that has produced Sweden’s musical talent: Cultural excellence depends on physical infrastructure where the arts can be produced and consumed.
CULTURAL POLICY BOLSTERS MUSIC
One reason Sweden produces exceptional music is because of cultural policy.
No ministry designed Max Martin. But the ecosystem that made someone like him possible was purpose-built: widespread studio clusters and kommunala musikskolan—publicly funded, local art schools where all children receive music classes until age 15. These schools operate in 286 of Sweden’s 290 municipalities, according to the Swedish Arts Schools Council. The policy aims to build the next generation of musicians, and treats access to culture as a right. Subsidized studios mean that musicians who give an area value don’t need to leave.
This matters because cities rich in culture are places where people thrive and which attract visitors. Culture improves residents’ quality of life, sense of identity, and feeling of belonging—key metrics in Atrium Ljungberg’s Human Sustainability Index guiding developments such as Slakthusområdet.
Stockholm is already a creative hub, with more than 39,500 businesses in the creative and cultural industries—around three times as many per capita as Los Angeles, according to the World Cities Culture Report. In Stockholm, the sector generates more than 400 billion kronor ($38 billion) annually, according to a new report by Region Stockholm, putting it on par with the region’s sizable financial sector. Density helps Stockholm’s creative scene flourish: Music, tech, fashion, and design sit in close proximity, producing a dynamic cross-pollination that is unmatched elsewhere.
MODELS TO FOLLOW
Cities that understand the value of creativity—accounting for 3.1% of global GDP—are pulling ahead. In 2018, Huntsville, Alabama commissioned the first municipal music audit in the United States. That led to a dedicated music office, targeted investment, and in 2022, $40 million to develop a world-class amphitheater. Treating music as economic infrastructure turned out to be good business: Tourism expenditure in the county reached $2.4 billion in 2023 and 2024.
I like to think of Slakthusområdet as the Nashville model applied to a Nordic city, remarkable for its creative infrastructure density. Stockholm’s creatives need spaces to create, network, and perform. In March, Universal Music Group moved into a market hall at the district’s heart. Construction is starting on a Stockholm University of the Arts campus, to be completed by 2030, so the creative talent pipeline can continue.
Nearby sits the reopened Avicii Arena—the original Sphere, 34 years before Vegas—Solen, which the Michelin Guide calls “a bang on-trend spot,” and warehouse clubs. The idea is that a meeting between a label’s music scouts and an emerging songwriter at Stockholm Roast, the local coffee bar, is intentional, not a coincidence.
Many local developments approach culture as a finishing touch, such as the gallery that opens after the offices fill up. Mannheim in Germany, now a UNESCO City of Music, inverted this model to spectacular effect. The Jungbusch former harbor area grew into a music hub, with a university for popular music and performance spaces. They built Musikpark, Germany’s only music-focused startup hub, home to over 50 companies. Their development viewed music as a lever for driving innovation, supporting economic diversification, and retaining talent.
City planners are increasingly aware that culture needs the right infrastructure to grow. An index compiled by AEA Consulting counted 267 cultural infrastructure projects announced in 2025, representing $13.6 billion of planned investment. That is the highest number of announced projects in the last decade. An institutionally established cultural sector allows a lively grassroots scene to flourish, supported by the right policies.
Leveraging Stockholm as a creative city of music will both drive economic growth and increase the city’s long-term value to residents and businesses. Hear it from Zara Larsson, who rounded off SMW, saying “Swedish music is the best in the world!”
Linus Kjellberg is head of business development at Atrium Ljungberg.
