16 Facts About Stig Anderson

Stig Erik Leopold "Stikkan" Anderson was a Swedish music manager, lyricist and music publisher.

Stig Anderson was the co-founder of Polar Music and is best known for managing the Swedish pop band ABBA.

Stikkan Erik Leopold Anderson was born on 25 January 1931 in Hova, Sweden, the son of a single mother named Ester.

Stig Anderson began his career as a chemistry and mathematics teacher at a primary school, by taking night classes after leaving school at the age of 15.

Stig Anderson founded Sweden Music in 1960, as well as several other companies.

Three years later, Stig Anderson co-founded Polar Music with Bengt Bernhag.

Stig Anderson joined the careers of these two, after previously managing the Hootenanny Singers, of which Ulvaeus was a member.

Stig Anderson's 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.

Sometimes referred to as the "fifth member" of ABBA, Stig Anderson owned the band's record label and publishing company.

Stig Anderson shared the ownership with Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Michael B Tretow, the main sound engineer for the company.

Stig Anderson was one of the dominant figures behind ABBA, representing their commercial interests and global success through successful record deals.

Stig Anderson remains the only member of the band never to seek legal recourse for past royalty fees and was not involved with the legal proceedings against Anderson.

In 1989, Stig Anderson made a substantial financial endowment to found the Polar Music Prize from money he made when he sold the multimillion-dollar record company Polar Records.

Previously, Stig Anderson had licensed ABBA and the members' solo releases to labels internationally as a means to increase royalties.

Stig Anderson was married to Gudrun Anderson, and had two sons, Anders and Lasse and a daughter Marie.

On 12 September 1997 at the age of 66, Stig Anderson died of a heart attack.