Spotify in Sweden.

Music This has been under reported elsewhere presumably because people are clutching their cds and mp3s and paranoia about the future of music for dear life and I don't really have a comment other than posting the two links from a Swedish news in English service:

Spotify rakes in half of Swedish music sales:

"Digital sales surpassed physical sales two years ago. In the first half of 2012, digital downloads and streaming accounted for 64 percent of the total market.

"Last year was the best year for music sales in Sweden since 2005, according to data from the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF).

"This is a clear sign that more consumers are paying for their music consumption than for some time," the chief executive of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) Sweden, Ludvig Werner, said in a statement."

Swedish music sales up as Spotify tightens grip:

"Music streaming service Spotify generates almost 70 percent of the Swedish music industry's revenues, which climbed for the third consecutive year in 2013.

"It's super positive, the third consecutive year of growth," said Ludwig Werner of the record company trade body IFPI.

"Sales of physical discs continue to fall sharply and streaming music has come to dominate the industry, whose revenues grew by 5 percent in 2013 to almost 1 billion kronor ($155 million), although still a fair way to the industry's peak levels in the early 2000s. "

No, actually I do have a comment. Compare the attitude of the man from the IFPI with the commentary from some members of the UK and US music industries. In Sweden, now that Spotify and other streaming services have reached critical mass, more money is pouring into the music industry than it has in years and working somewhat against the decline.

It isn't interesting to note that while some rock acts are either pulling their back catalogue from the service or only making limited amounts available, I'm receiving marketing emails from classical music companies with embedded Spotify players or links to their albums on the service, even Deutsche Grammophon who took ages to allow themselves to be signed on and uploaded.  Some people understand.