Almost 90% of Nordic population use streaming services

Almost 90% of Nordic population use streaming services with free services dominating, according to The Polaris Nordic Digital Music Survey 2018. The survey has been carried out by Polaris Nordic, a collaboration of the three Nordic collecting societies Koda (Denmark), Teosto (Finland) and TONO (Norway).

The survey found that almost everyone in the Nordics streams music, but only 43% are premium subscribers. Average music streaming time among all streamers is over 11 hours per week. The most frequently used service is YouTube, with Spotify as number two, but music is also prominently featured on social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Even though 69% of the Nordic population agrees that music creators should be compensated when their music is used in online services, the number of people using only free services has risen from 40% in 2017 to 47% in 2018.

Across Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark, a total of 90% of all the inhabitants aged 12 to 65 have used at least one music streaming service over the course of the last year.

However, a growing number of Nordic consumers are using only free services for their online use of music: 47% use free or trial versions only and do not have any paid subscription. 43% of the users are premium subscribers or are paying for music through a bundled service. National differences are significant: in Sweden 51% and in Norway 50% of the consumers have a paid subscription, and in Denmark it is 46% and in Finland 26%.

The most popular streaming service in the Nordic countries is the free ad-supported version of YouTube. Within the last year, 74% of the population of the Nordic countries had used YouTube to stream music followed by Spotify with 54%.

Nordic countries music streaming overview

Music prominent on Facebook, Instagram growing fast

Music is also prominently featured in social media, particularly Facebook. The survey shows that 20% of the Nordic population uses Facebook for watching music videos or videos containing music and 11% uses Instagram. The survey also reveals that 69% of the Nordic population agrees with the statement “I think it’s fair that online services, which use music as a part of their business, pay a share of their revenue to the creators of the music”.

The Polaris societies together with other European authors societies are working to ensure that platform services, typically social media, pay rights holders fair remuneration when their music is used online. The survey reveals that a majority of the Nordic population agrees with this.

“We are happy to see that more and more people are choosing paid premium subscriptions, but the ‘transfer of value’ problem still needs fixing. Social media is also widely used for music consumption. It is necessary that online services, which use music as a part of their business, pay a share of their revenue to the creators of the music”, says Risto Salminen, CEO of Teosto.

Profile of Nordic listeners with a paid audio streaming service

No gender differences
18-29 year olds and to a lesser degree 30-39 year olds
Yearly household income more often over €93,000 (700,000 DKK/SEK/NOK)
More frequent concertgoers
Favourite music genres are: Rap/Hip-Hop, Alternative & Indie, RnB/Urban, Pop, Dance & Electronic
Much more frequent subscribers of TV/movie streaming services
Agree more that YouTube should pay musicians for their work displayed on the digital service
Agree more that the price for having access to all music through a paid subscription service is fair

Radio remains the most mentioned source for new music discovery in all four countries, followed by YouTube and dedicated music streaming services. 36% of the respondents selected ‘I heard it on the radio’ when prompted for the source of discovery for their latest new favourite track.

For young people (aged 12-29), the role of YouTube, friends and music streaming services was considerably higher for new music discovery, but radio also played a significant role.

About the Polaris Nordic Digital Music Survey 2018

The Polaris Nordic Digital Music survey was conducted by YouGov in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden in September 2018 on behalf of the Polaris Nordic Alliance. The data collection was carried out online using the Nordic YouGov Panel and the national representative sample of men/women aged 15-65 and children aged 12-14 was +1,000 in each country. The survey is the fourth of its kind; the first was carried out in 2014 and can be downloaded here.