When you consider Swedish musicians like Avicii and Swedish producers like RedOne, who co-produced most of Lady Gaga's stuff, it's not surprising that Sweden is the largest per capita exporter of pop music in the world and the third-largest overall. That's pretty good for a country with fewer people than Ohio that's otherwise known mainly for clever cubical bookshelves.
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
And also for this guy. You can thank me in the comments, ladies.
You know that one guy who is always saying that all the world's problems can be fixed with education? Well, when the problem you're trying to fix is "my country doesn't export enough pop music," that dude may actually be right. In the 1940s, the Swedish government started a bunch of low-cost music schools to lead its children toward egalitarian musical greatness. Unlike American music schools, which generally provide select training for the small number of kids who are talented enough, Sweden's schools aim at generalized musical education for all. One in three Swedish students now attends publicly funded after-school music programs, and the Swedish government also subsidizes music outside of the classroom, with some musicians even being given money just to rehearse. So the next time you hear a catchy song with oddly ungrammatical lyrics on the radio, thank Sweden's generous socialist government.
Ryan McVay/Photodisc
"I could forgive Stalinist purges, but not this."
641 Comments