theatlantic:

Why Is Sweden So Good At Pop Music?

Exactly 20 years ago, a co-ed quartet from Sweden called Ace of Base released “The Sign,” the fourth single off their multiplatinum debut album. It took Americans a few months to open up their eyes and see the sign themselves—the track didn’t top the Billboard charts until the following year, when it was released in the U.S.—but the song has become the band’s most enduring legacy, and it remains compelling evidence that Swedish people are great at writing catchy pop songs.

From Abba to Icona Pop, from Roxette to Robyn, Sweden’s reputation for pop superiority has spanned decades, and it continues today. But the arrival of Ace of Base helped usher in the “Swedish Music Miracle,” a period of time from about 1990 to 2003 when Sweden’s musical exports were at their economic peak. A 1999 report from Sweden’s Ministry of Finance found that royalty payments to Sweden from foreign markets were twice the U.S. per capita figure. Today, according to other reports, Sweden is the third-largest music exporter in the world behind the U.S. and the UK. In 2003, Swedish music exports began to decline, but behind the scenes, the country’s pop talent has remained active: In May of 2012, half of the top 10 songs on the Billboard Hot 100 were written or produced by Swedes.

Read more. [Image: AP]