Voluntary municipal music schools have a long history in Sweden. By the mid-20th century, they were established in most municipalities in the country. Today, voluntary municipal music and culture schools focusing on after-school activities for schoolchildren form one of the major areas of cultural activity at the municipal level of government. Since the 1990s, their activities have widened their focus from classical music to a broad selection of cultural expressions, including subjects such as music, dance, drama, theatre, and art, with music retaining its status as the most offered subject.
In 2023, municipal music and culture schools had 190 000 pupils, i.e., 11 per cent of children and young people aged 6-19. Many music and culture schools also organise open activities not included in these numbers. In 2016, a national subsidy of SEK 100 million was introduced for music and culture schools. After being higher for some years, it is now once again SEK 100 million. Municipal spending on music and culture schools amounted to SEK 3.1 billion in 2023. At the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the trend was that municipal spending on music and culture schools was increasing (Swedish Arts Council 2019; Swedish Agency for Cultural Analysis 2020). In 2023, 286 of the 290 municipalities of Sweden provided music or culture schools. In 12 per cent of the municipalities, this offer was free of charge.
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