Sales of Icelandic music are making a rebound after more than a decade of decline, according to Eiður Arnarsson, director of IFPI Iceland, the country’s association of record makers. Eiður shared the results of a recent study of the local market on RÚV morning radio.
Eiður says Icelandic music continued to sell well during a global drop in music sales, which began at the turn of the century when listeners started being able to access music illegally for free. By 2010, however, sales of Icelandic music were also dropping like in neighbouring countries.
Recently, however, CD and vinyl sales have been going fairly well, even among young listeners. “[Vinyl sales] have definitely turned around,” Eiður stated. “Libraries, for example, in the capital, have been loaning out records diligently [and] that awakens young people’s interest in vinyl records and they start buying them.”
Nevertheless, streaming services like Spotify are now many music fans’ preferred method of listening to music. Spotify was first introduced in Sweden in 2008, coming to Iceland in 2013. Eiður says many Icelandic musicians now enjoy significant income from streams on the platform. “Spotify became what the market was always asking for,” Eiður remarked.“That is to say, nearly unrestrained access to nearly all music, but with good service.”
