Stim's music promotion 2025

In 2025 music promotion was characterized by a broadened presence, new collaborations and continued investments in knowledge, networks and professional development. By combining creative support with competence-building measures and meeting places, Stim contributes to a stronger ecosystem for Swedish music creation—where more voices are heard and where quality and sustainability are central.

100 years of Stim's scholarship

In 2025 Stim's scholarship celebrated its 100th anniversary — a jubilee that reflects the scholarship's long-standing importance for Swedish music creators. Interest remained very high with over 2,300 applications, and a total of 144 scholarship recipients shared just over SEK 4 million.

Stim's scholarship rewards high artistic quality and often serves as an important recognition of the music creator's work. At the same time it provides financial space to continue to create, explore new ideas and facilitate the next step in a career, regardless of where one is in professional life. In this way the scholarship contributes both to the individual's continued development and to an overall renewal of the music scene.

The Musical Diversity Program

In 2025 the Musical Diversity Program continued to strengthen the Swedish music scene. For the first time the program included all initiatives— Livemusiklyftet, Radiovågen, Musikdrömmen, Förlagskraft and Notutgivningsstödet — which meant a broader and more cohesive effort than before. The different initiatives complement each other through a mix of competitive project grants and a royalty boost to music that has not yet reached a larger audience.

Through this support, individual music creators, projects and music publishers have been given the opportunity to develop, produce and distribute music. The measures have reached recipients in different parts of the country and strengthened the conditions for a more varied music scene, where more perspectives and expressions can take place.

Unrestricted funds for a strong music scene

In addition to funds that are distributed directly to music creators, so-called unrestricted funds are used to finance music promotion activities. This is revenue that, for various reasons, could not be allocated individually and therefore — according to Stim's principles — can be used to strengthen the music scene as a whole.

During 2025 the unrestricted funds helped enable a number of different projects, support forms and collaborations. They create room to test new initiatives and meet needs that arise in a changing industry. In this way the unrestricted funds function as an important complement to other efforts and contribute to long-term development and innovation.

Collaboration for musical diversity

The music promotion activities are carried out in close collaboration within the Stim-sphere, where several organizations contribute with different perspectives and efforts over the year.

FST has strengthened composers' professional conditions through scholarships, travel grants and advice. The organization has also conducted training and seminars, and participated in international contexts, where Swedish composers have had the opportunity to make contacts and reach new markets. Initiatives such as Sjungande Barn have contributed to regeneration within art music.

Skap has continued to highlight and strengthen the role of the music creator through its awards activities, which spotlight artistic achievements independently of commercial success. Skap has also conducted active advocacy work on copyright and industry issues and offered advice and education. The development of digital platforms and networks has also contributed to increased accessibility and knowledge.

Musikförläggarna has worked to strengthen copyright and highlight the role of music publishers in the music value chain. Through Musikförläggarnas Pris, industry days and seminars, the organization has created important meetings and increased knowledge about the music industry's development. Support for projects and participation in international contexts has further helped develop the sector and raise the profile of Swedish music.

Svensk Musik has continued its work to make Swedish contemporary music accessible and widely available. At the core this is an extensive manuscript collection with over 23,000 works, which is used by musicians, organizers, orchestras and researchers both in Sweden and internationally. The organization covers the whole chain from receiving and cataloguing works to digitizing, archiving and making them available online.

Together, the work within the Stim-sphere shows how different efforts complement each other and contribute to a strong, dynamic and sustainable Swedish music scene.