Nordic Digital Music Survey 2026: Consumers demand more control over AI-generated music, and freemium listening remains widespread

The use of artificial intelligence among Nordic consumers has more than tripled in just two years, rising from 20% to 66%. As AI becomes more widespread, consumers are setting clearer conditions for its role in music. They expect clear identification of AI-generated tracks, the ability to filter AI tracks from recommendations and playlists, and stronger safeguards for music creators whose works are used to develop AI services.

More than three in four Nordic consumers, 77%, believe AI-generated music should be clearly labelled on streaming services, up from 58% in 2024. Almost as many, 74%, want the option to filter it out of their recommendations and playlists.

“AI is now part of everyday life, but greater use does not mean unconditional acceptance. Nordic consumers are telling us clearly that they want to know when music is AI-generated, and they want a choice about whether it appears in their listening experience. Transparency and meaningful control must be built into the way music services use AI, alongside licensing models that return value to the creators whose work makes these systems possible”, says Karl Vestli, CEO of TONO.

77% of respondents believe composers and songwriters should be able to decide whether their music is used to train AI services, while 74% believe creators should be paid when AI companies use their music or voice to generate new content. Nearly two-thirds, 63%, also look to policymakers to ensure that AI services do not undermine music creators’ livelihoods.

Human-made music continues to hold distinct value. More than half of Nordic consumers, 54%, would prefer a streaming subscription offering only human-made music. However, just 21% would be willing to pay more for it, revealing a clear gap between the value consumers place on human-made music and their willingness to pay a premium for it.

“The consistency of public opinion is striking. Across the Nordic countries, people expect creators to be paid when their music is used, and a recent UK study points to similar attitudes among the British public. What people are backing is the straightforward principle behind licensing, where creators remain in control of their work and AI companies pay for the creative content they use. Policymakers urgently need to ensure that we have rules in place that support a fair and balanced AI economy built on licensing, so rightsholders do not have to rely on endless litigation,” says Gorm Arildsen, CEO of Koda.

Freemium remains a massive driver of listening

As many as 96% of people aged 12–65 across the Nordic countries use music streaming services. The share paying for a music streaming subscription has increased from 56% to 63% over the past two years, while the share relying solely on free or trial versions has fallen from 40% to 32%. Despite this, free platforms still account for as much as 61% of all time spent streaming music in the Nordic countries. Average daily digital music listening time has also increased, from 3.6 to 3.9 hours.

Spotify is now the most widely used music streaming service across the Nordics, used by 67% of respondents and overtaking YouTube at 65%. Finland is the only country in the survey where YouTube remains more popular than Spotify. In Finland, 73% of respondents use YouTube for listening to music, compared with 65% for Spotify.

A similar upward trend can be seen in video streaming. The share using commercial video-on-demand services has risen from 83% to 90%, while the use of public service streaming platforms has increased more modestly, from 51% to 53%. Netflix remains the most widely used TV and movie streaming service across the Nordics, reaching 54.5% of respondents.

“It is encouraging to see more people choosing paid music streaming services. Nevertheless, free-tier usage remains widespread across the Nordic countries, despite consumers increasingly subscribing to multiple video-on-demand platforms. By subscribing to paid music services, consumers contribute more directly to fair compensation for the creators and artists whose work drives these platforms,” says Risto Salminen, CEO of Teosto.

Social media is reshaping music discovery across the Nordics, especially among teenagers

According to the Nordic Digital Music Survey, radio remains the single most important source of music discovery across the Nordic countries, but its influence continues to decline. In 2026, 18% of Nordic consumers said they discovered the last new song they really liked through radio, down from 23% in 2024 and 39% in 2015.

At the same time, social media is becoming increasingly important: TikTok now matches streaming-service playlists and recommendations as a discovery channel (both 12%), while Instagram has grown to 6%. The trend is strongly shaped by age. Among young people aged 12–17, TikTok is by far the leading source of new music, accounting for roughly one-third of music discovery, followed by YouTube and recommendations from friends.

In contrast, listeners aged 30 and over are much more likely to discover music through radio and streaming service recommendations. Among people aged 50–65, radio remains the dominant discovery channel by a wide margin.

Nordic Digital Music Survey 2026 – Key Findings

• AI use has more than tripled, while demand for transparency has risen sharply. The share of people using artificial intelligence in everyday life or at work has increased from 20% in 2024 to 66% in 2026
• Three in four want control over whether AI-generated music enters their listening experience.
• 77% believe music created by AI without human creativity should be clearly identified on streaming services and radio, up from 58% in 2024.
• 74% would like the option to filter AI-generated music out of playlists, recommendations and music discovery features.
• Around three in four support consent for creators’ rights. 77% believe composers and songwriters should be able to decide whether their music is used as training data for AI services, while 74% believe creators should be compensated when their music is used by AI companies. More than half (54%) would prefer a streaming service containing only human-made music.
• Paid music streaming continues to grow across Nordics, but use of freemium music services remains high. The share of Nordic consumers paying for music streaming subscriptions has increased from 56% to 63%, while the share using only free services has fallen from 40% to 32%. 96% of people aged 12–65 in the Nordic countries use music streaming services, spending an average of 3.9 hours per day listening to digital music.
• Social media is reshaping music discovery, especially among teenagers. Spotify has overtaken YouTube as the leading music service in the Nordics. 67% use Spotify and 65% use YouTube for music. Finland remains the only Nordic country where YouTube (73%) is more widely used than Spotify (65%) Radio remains the largest single source of music discovery (18%), but its influence continues to decline. TikTok (12%) now matches streaming-service playlists and recommendations (12%) as a discovery channel, while Instagram has grown to 6%. Among 12–17-year-olds, TikTok is the leading source of new music, accounting for roughly one-third of music discovery. Among people aged 50–65, radio remains the dominant discovery channel.

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The Nordic Digital Music Survey is conducted every two years and examines digital music consumption among consumers in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway. The survey was carried out by research company YouGov on behalf of TONO (Norway), Teosto (Finland) and Koda (Denmark). Data was collected between 26 June and 26 July 2026. A total of 4,033 respondents aged 12-65 participated in the survey. Results were weighted by age, gender, and geographical region to ensure national representativeness.