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How much does a musician earn in Sweden?

Musicians, singers and composers. 5,000 people employed in Sweden.

44,400SEK

per month is the median salary for a musician in Sweden in 2025. That is 16% higher than the median across all jobs in the country, 38,300 SEK.

+0.9% since 2024

≈ €3,950 / $4,600 at September 2026 exchange rates, before tax.

That is roughly 34,760 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

≈ 256 SEK an hour · 532,800 SEK a year

The hourly figure is the monthly salary divided by 173.3 hours (40 hours a week × 52 weeks / 12 months); the yearly figure is twelve times the monthly salary.

In the 2025 salary statistics, a musician earned 47,400 SEK a month on average in Sweden. The median salary is 44,400 SEK. The lowest-paid 10% earn under 34,300 SEK and the highest-paid 10% over 57,000 SEK.

Figures are gross monthly salary before tax, converted to full time. Income tax in Sweden is roughly 30–34% for most earners, plus a national surtax on income above about 51,000 SEK a month.

Average pay
47,400 SEK
Mean gross monthly salary
Lowest 10%
34,300 SEK
Earn less than this
Highest 10%
57,000 SEK
Earn more than this
People employed
5,000
In this job in Sweden

The pay range

How monthly salaries are distributed among musicians, singers and composers in Sweden. The same scale is used in the tables further down.

34,300 SEKLowest 10%44,400 SEKMedian57,000 SEKHighest 10%
Light band: the middle 80 per cent. Dark band: the middle half, earning 40,300–49,500 SEK. The red line is the median salary across all jobs in Sweden.

Musician and singer starting salary

Statistics Sweden publishes no starting-salary figures. The closest proxies are what the youngest people in the job earn and where the lower end of the pay distribution sits.

The youngest in the job, aged 25–34, earn 43,000 SEK a month on average — roughly 33,800 SEK after tax in an average municipality.

Starting-salary proxies, before and after tax
Before tax After tax
Average, aged 25–34 43,000 SEK 33,817 SEK
Lowest 10% earn less than 34,300 SEK 27,510 SEK
Lowest 25% earn less than 40,300 SEK 31,999 SEK

These are proxies, not starting salaries. An age band holds both people who have just started and people ten years into the job, and the lowest paid are not always newcomers. The collective-agreement minimum and an individual offer can sit above or below.

Musician and singer pay in the private and public sector

What musicians, singers and composers earn depends a great deal on who the employer is.

Monthly salary by sector and gender
Sector Average pay Median pay Men Women
All sectors 47,400 SEK 44,400 SEK 44,400 SEK 44,200 SEK
Private sector 47,400 SEK 44,400 SEK 44,400 SEK 44,200 SEK

Musician and singer salary after tax in Sweden

What musicians, singers and composers actually take home depends on which municipality they live in. The table shows what 44,400 SEK a month comes to after tax in a few of them.

That is roughly 34,760 SEK after tax in an average municipality, without the church fee.

44,400 SEK a month after tax, by municipality
Municipality Municipal and regional tax After tax
Average municipality 32.38% 34,760 SEK
Stockholm 30.55% 35,394 SEK
Göteborg 32.60% 34,695 SEK
Malmö 32.42% 34,748 SEK
Österåker (lowest tax) 28.93% 35,776 SEK
Dorotea (highest tax) 35.65% 33,796 SEK
  • The youngest in the job, aged 25–34 years, earn 43,000 SEK before tax — roughly 33,817 SEK after.
  • The best paid 10% earn more than 57,000 SEK, which is roughly 42,850 SEK after tax.

Calculate the salary after tax for a musician

The figures assume an average municipality, no church fee and an age under 66. The calculator takes your own municipality into account.

And if the job goes? Work out unemployment benefit for a musician

Pay for men and women

Median salary for men and women
Gender 35,000 55,000 Median pay Number
Men 44,400 SEK 2,500
Women 44,200 SEK 2,500

Statistics Sweden calculates the ratio on average monthly salary, while the table above shows median salaries, so the two do not line up exactly. The figure is also unadjusted: it does not account for differences in age, sector or position.

Musician and singer salary by age

Pay for musicians, singers and composers normally rises with years in the job.

Monthly salary by age
Age 35,000 55,000 Average pay Men Women Number
25–34 years 43,000 SEK – 44,100 SEK –
45–54 years 44,400 SEK 43,500 SEK 45,100 SEK 1,500
55–64 years 46,000 SEK 45,500 SEK 46,300 SEK 1,200

Pay by level of education

Monthly salary by level of education
Level of education 35,000 55,000 Average pay Men Women Number
Upper secondary education 3 years (ISCED97 3A) 44,800 SEK – – –
Post-secondary education 3 years or more (ISCED97 5A) 45,200 SEK 46,400 SEK 44,400 SEK 2,600

Musician and singer salary by region

Statistics Sweden reports pay by job at the level of national areas (NUTS 2), not by county.

Monthly salary by region
Region 35,000 55,000 Average pay Men Women Number
East-Central Sweden 43,400 SEK 44,600 SEK 41,300 SEK –
South Sweden 42,000 SEK 39,700 SEK 44,500 SEK –
West Sweden 48,800 SEK – 46,600 SEK 1,100

Musician and singer pay growth 2014–2025

Median salary per year. Years with no reported median are skipped. The dashed line marks the break between the older and the newer series at Statistics Sweden; comparisons across it should be made with care.

From 32,300 SEK in 2014 to 44,400 SEK in 2025, +37% in total. Nominal figures, not adjusted for inflation. The lighter part of the line, the years before 2023, comes from an older set of statistics at Statistics Sweden and is not fully comparable with the later years.

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Swedish job titles in this occupation

Statistics Sweden files the following Swedish job titles under SSYK 2652, “musiker, sångare och kompositörer”. These are the titles you will actually meet in Swedish job ads.

  • Ackompanjatör, klassisk musik
  • Ackompanjatör, populärmusik
  • Arrangör, klassisk musik
  • Arrangör, populärmusik
  • Artist, populärmusik
  • Barpianist
  • Batterist, orkester
  • Cellist
  • Dansbandsmusiker
  • Dirigent
  • Domkyrkoorganist
  • Elektronmusiker
  • Filmkompositör
  • Filmmusikkompositör
  • Flöjtist
  • Församlingsmusiker
  • Gatumusikant
  • Gitarrist, klassisk musik
  • Gitarrist, populärmusik
  • Jazzmusiker
  • Kammarmusiker
  • Kantor
  • Kapellmästare
  • Komponist, konstmusik
  • Kompositör, konstmusik
  • Kompositör, populärmusik
  • Konsertmästare
  • Konsertpianist
  • Korist
  • Kormästare
  • Kyrkokantor
  • Kyrkomusiker
  • Kyrkosångare
  • Körledare
  • Körsångare, klassisk musik
  • Körsångare, populärmusik
  • Musiker, folkmusik
  • Musiker, klassisk musik
  • Musiker, konstmusik
  • Musiker, populärmusik
  • Musikförläggare, utan chefshierarki
  • Musikproducent
  • Notskrivare
  • Operasångare
  • Organist
  • Orkesterledare, klassisk musik
  • Orkesterledare, populärmusik
  • Pianist, klassisk musik
  • Pianist, populärmusik
  • Popmusiker
  • Popsångare
  • Populärmusiker
  • Populärsångare
  • Repetitör, klassisk musik
  • Rockmusiker
  • Rocksångare
  • Schlagermusiker
  • Schlagersångare
  • Skolkantor
  • Slagverkare
  • Spelman
  • Stämledare
  • Sångare, folkmusik
  • Sångare, klassisk musik
  • Sångare, konstmusik
  • Sångare, populärmusik
  • Tonsättare
  • Trubadur
  • Trumslagare, populärmusik
  • Violinist
  • Vissångare
  • Vokalist

Frequently asked questions

How much does a musician earn in 2026?

The latest figures are Statistics Sweden's salary structure statistics for 2025, published on 16 June 2026. The median salary was then 44,400 SEK a month before tax, against 44,000 SEK the year before (2024) — +0.9%. Figures for 2026 are normally published in June 2027; until then the 2025 figures are the latest there are, and we do not project our own.

What is the median salary for a musician in Sweden?

The median salary for a musician in Sweden is 44,400 SEK per month before tax (2025). That means half earn less and half earn more. The median across all jobs in Sweden is 38,300 SEK, so musicians, singers and composers sit 16% higher than the typical job.

How much does a musician earn after tax?

The median salary for a musician is 44,400 SEK a month before tax. In an average Swedish municipality, without the church fee and for someone under 66, that works out at roughly 34,800 SEK after tax. The exact figure depends on which municipality you live in — our salary-after-tax calculator works it out.

What is the difference between average and median pay for musicians, singers and composers?

The average (47,400 SEK) is the mean of every salary and is pulled upwards by the highest earners. The median (44,400 SEK) is the salary in the middle of the scale and usually gives a better picture of what musicians, singers and composers typically earn.

What is the starting salary for a musician in Sweden?

Statistics Sweden does not publish starting salaries as such. The closest figure is the youngest people in the job: musicians, singers and composers aged 25–34 years earn 43,000 SEK per month on average. The lowest-paid 10% in the job earn less than 34,300 SEK. More in the section “Musician and singer starting salary” above.

How high can the salary go for musicians, singers and composers?

The highest-paid 10% in the job earn more than 57,000 SEK per month. Pay is shaped by sector, experience, level of education and where in the country you work.

Where in Sweden does a musician earn the most?

Pay is highest in West Sweden, where musicians, singers and composers earn 48,800 SEK per month on average.

Jobs with similar pay

Other jobs in creative and performing artists

See the whole occupational group Creative and performing artists or occupations requiring advanced level of higher education