09:58 | Tuesday November 24, 2009
By Eamonn Forde

IFPI Sweden has reported that revenues from music sales in Sweden have risen 18% in the past nine months. This has been driven in part by a concerted legislative crackdown on piracy in the country, including the shuttering of The Pirate Bay.

While physical sales in Sweden rose by 9% in the period, digital sales increased by a massive 80%.
The Guardian has reported the sales upswing and suggested that Sweden now stands as an important example for other markets in terms of how to address digital piracy.

Sweden introduced tough anti-piracy measures in April this year and they echo the proposals of the UK Government’s recent Digital Economy Bill.

Sweden is, of course, home to Spotify and, along with Pirate Bay, has been a symbol of the two extremes of “free”. The fact that legal and licensed “free” services like Spotify are booming have been taken by the music industry as a sign of immense hope for the future.

IFPI chairman and chief executive John Kennedy has said, "The increase in sales in Sweden, set against the backdrop of innovative new digital services and tighter copyright laws, is encouraging.

“It is too early to say if Sweden has permanently turned a corner, but we hope that users there will permanently switch from unlicensed filesharing networks that give nothing back to the music community to great value legal services whose operators recognise continuous investment is needed to discover and promote the talent of tomorrow."