Stig Anderson - Polar Music

Polar Music

Anderson was the founder of the Polar Music record label in 1963. Initially beginning his career as a chemistry and mathematics teacher after leaving school at the age of 15, Anderson soon entered the Swedish popular music scene, becoming a music producer, manager and also occasional performer.

Anderson had begun writing songs as early as 1951, and in 1959 he got his breakthrough with the song "Är du kär i mig ännu, Klas-Göran?" ("Are You Still In Love With Me, Klas-Göran?"), written for Swedish singer Lill-Babs. During the 1960s he was one of Sweden's most prolific songwriters, producing more than 3,000 published titles. Anderson also founded Sweden Music in 1960, as well as several other companies.

By the late 1960s, he was the manager and producer of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, who would become the two main songwriters of ABBA. He joined the careers of these two after previously managing the Hootenanny Singers, of which Ulvaeus was a member. Later, in 1972, he began managing Anni-Frid Lyngstad, and finally in 1976 Agnetha Fältskog (until December 1975, Fältskog was still bound to Cupol/CBS Records under a contract). Prior to ABBA's formation, Björn and Benny were living in a Volkswagen bus and had decided to leave music and gain regular jobs, however Anderson persuaded them to start a new band, investing considerable money in the group.

Before his time with ABBA, Anderson managed some of the biggest Swedish artists at that time, and had a huge number of hits on the Swedish charts. His success earned him the nickname "The Business" since he often had several artists in the Top 10 at any time with whom he had written, published, and recorded the songs. When requiring fresh ideas, Anderson would travel to New York, buy songs that had been American hits, and then translated or transcribe the lyrics on the return journey ready for a recording session shortly after and then have the record on the shelves within a few days. The number of songs sent to IFPI/ASCAP for copyright infringement reached over 9,000.