The Nordics are high performers in digitisation in European and global comparisons. As for media use, there is a continuous shift to digital consumption, but age gaps are increasing. These are some of the themes covered in this newsletter, all with a focus on the Nordic countries.
Over the course of just a decade, all the Nordic countries now have – or are on their way to having – shifted to tax-based funding of public service media. Still, the models chosen are not totally alike. We have mapped the similarities and differences in the different countries.
Finland is the EU’s best-performing country in digitisation, while Sweden ranks second and Denmark fourth. Norway, not included in the ranking, is at the same level as the other Nordic countries.
The Swedish public service media companies should be up to date and in close connection to the audience. They are also a common good that should work in a media system with a free and functioning commercial media market. This is what the Swedish Minister of Culture, Amanda Lind, said in June 2019 when she presented the Government's proposal on the conditions for a new broadcasting remit for Sweden's three public service media companies.
The effects of digitalisation run as a thread throughout this year’s first Nordic newsletter. Media use is undergoing change, as is the media market. The digital transformation is also creating – and bridging – new inequalities in society, according to new research.
The revenue of the Danish media industry declined by three per cent from 2016 to 2017. Written media, such as newspapers, local newspapers and magazines, were the media sectors most affected by the decline.
Digitalisation has been a major game-changer for the media industry as well as for its audiences. The publication MedieSverige 2019 gives the reader an up-to-date and broad overview of today's Swedish media landscape. (Publication in Swedish, summary in English)
Norwegian music sales are shrinking, and the conditions for Norwegian artists and rights-holders are getting tougher. This is reported in a recent investigation of the impact of digitalisation on the music industry in Norway.
The European Audiovisual Observatory and the European Film Agencies Research Network (EFARN) have launched a database of film industry research and statistics. The database is accessible online (open access).
In 2017, the Icelandic media revenue decreased by two per cent. Since the market’s all-time high in 2006-2007, the total media revenue has decreased by almost a fifth. This is according to a new analysis from Statistics Iceland.
