Avicii’s influence on electronic music continues to reach far beyond the records, festivals and unforgettable melodies that defined his career. In Sweden, the Tim Bergling Foundation is building on that legacy through a project designed to give young people something its namesake understood deeply: the opportunity to discover themselves through music.
The foundation has opened its seventh free music studio in Sweden, this time in Navestad, a district of Norrköping. Developed in collaboration with local housing company Hyresbostäder i Norrköping and other community partners, the new space provides people aged 13 to 25 with access to facilities where they can write, produce and record music without paying to use the studio.
The initiative forms part of Studios For A Better Day, a growing network created to make music production more accessible while encouraging creativity and supporting young people’s well-being. Its latest opening marks another step towards the foundation’s ambition to establish at least ten studios across Sweden.
A Creative Space Without Barriers
Located at Navet Community Corner in Norrköping’s Navestad district, the studio is designed for young people regardless of their previous experience with music.
That accessibility is central to the initiative. Producing music can require equipment, software, recording facilities and technical knowledge that are difficult to obtain without financial resources or access to a supportive creative environment. By removing the cost of using the studio, the foundation helps lower those barriers and gives young people room to experiment.
Whether someone wants to write their first song, learn the basics of music production, record vocals or develop an existing project, the space offers an opportunity to begin without needing to invest in a professional home studio.
Martina Larsson, Head of Communications at the Tim Bergling Foundation, said the facilities are intended for anyone aged 13 to 25 who wants to make music, regardless of prior experience.
The approach reflects a simple but important idea: creative development should not depend entirely on what a young person can afford. Access to equipment and a place to work can help transform an interest into a skill, while the process of making music can create opportunities for self-expression and collaboration.
For the young people of Navestad, the studio provides a local resource where ideas can move from imagination into something tangible. It also places music-making within a community setting, rather than treating it as an activity available only to those who already have the means to pursue it.
Studios For A Better Day: From Stockholm to Norrköping
The new Norrköping location is the seventh studio established through the foundation’s programme. The initiative began in 2022 with the opening of its first space at House of Tensta, a youth centre in Stockholm.
Since then, the network has continued to grow, with each location intended to provide young people with access to music production facilities and creative activities. The programme’s emphasis extends beyond technical skills, recognising that creative spaces can also offer opportunities for connection, confidence and personal development.
Music has a particular capacity to bring people together. Writing a song, learning an instrument, experimenting with production software or collaborating on a recording can give young people a shared purpose and a way to communicate experiences that may be difficult to express in other settings.
A free studio does not, by itself, resolve the wider challenges facing young people. However, it can provide a practical starting point: a welcoming place to spend time, learn something new and explore an interest with fewer financial obstacles.
The involvement of local partners is also significant. Hyresbostäder i Norrköping and other organisations in the area have contributed to the effort behind the new facility, demonstrating how a foundation’s wider mission can take shape through cooperation with the communities it serves.
The goal is not simply to establish more rooms equipped for music production. It is to create accessible environments where young people can use those facilities as part of their everyday lives.
Building a Legacy Beyond the Stage
The Tim Bergling Foundation was established in memory of Avicii, whose real name was Tim Bergling. The Swedish DJ and producer died by suicide in 2018 at the age of 28, following years of mental health struggles.
His death prompted widespread discussion across the music industry about the pressures faced by artists, particularly within a culture shaped by demanding schedules, public expectations and the relentless pace of international touring.
Avicii’s story remains an important part of that conversation, but the foundation’s work also demonstrates how a legacy can develop through practical action. Rather than existing only as a tribute to his achievements, the organisation supports initiatives connected to young people’s well-being and opportunities.
The music studios bring that mission into a tangible setting. They do not attempt to replicate Avicii’s career or suggest that every young person who enters a studio will become a professional musician. Instead, they make space for creativity to exist on its own terms.
That distinction matters. Music can be a profession, a passion, a social activity or simply a way to spend time expressing something personal. The opportunity to explore it without the immediate pressure of commercial success can be valuable in itself.
Avicii’s catalogue continues to reach listeners around the world, but the foundation’s work offers another way to understand the endurance of his influence: through opportunities created for people who may never stand on a festival stage but still find meaning in making music.
The Connection Between Creativity and Well-Being
The programme’s name, Studios For A Better Day, places well-being at the centre of its approach. Its studios are intended not only to provide access to equipment, but also to support creative activity in environments where young people can explore their interests.
Creative work can offer structure, a sense of progress and opportunities for social connection. Completing a track, learning a production technique or collaborating with another person can give someone a concrete achievement to build on. For young people navigating education, relationships and the transition into adulthood, these experiences can contribute to a sense of agency.
It is important, however, not to treat music-making as a substitute for professional mental health support when that is needed. The value of initiatives like this lies in providing additional opportunities for engagement, expression and connection, rather than presenting creativity as a universal solution to complex problems.
The foundation’s approach recognises that access matters. Young people need opportunities to explore their interests, and those opportunities are often shaped by the resources available in their communities.
A free music studio cannot guarantee a particular outcome, but it can remove one practical obstacle between a young person and an activity they want to pursue. It can also create a setting in which skills develop gradually, without requiring immediate results.
The Road to Ten Studios
The foundation has set a goal of establishing at least ten locations through Studios For A Better Day, expanding the programme’s reach to more young people across Sweden.
The next locations and opening dates have not yet been announced. For now, the focus turns to the new Norrköping studio and the opportunities it can provide to people in Navestad.
Reaching ten studios would represent a significant expansion from the initiative’s beginnings at House of Tensta in 2022. The longer-term impact will depend not only on the number of locations opened, but also on how accessible they remain, how young people use them and whether the spaces can continue to support their local communities over time.
Still, the opening of the seventh studio marks meaningful progress towards that target. Each new location adds another place where young people can experiment with sound, develop technical abilities and discover what making music might mean to them.
A Different Kind of Headline
Avicii’s name is often associated with monumental festival moments, emotionally charged melodies and songs that became part of electronic music’s global vocabulary. The opening of a free studio in Norrköping represents a quieter form of impact, one measured not by audience numbers or chart positions, but by the opportunities made available to individuals.
At Navet Community Corner, the next generation can begin creating music without needing to prove its commercial potential or arrive with professional experience. Some may discover a lasting passion. Others may simply enjoy learning how to turn an idea into a finished track.
Both outcomes have value.
The Tim Bergling Foundation’s ambition to reach at least ten studios suggests that this work is intended to continue growing. As the network expands, its significance will be found in the everyday experiences taking place inside each space: the first recording, the first completed beat, the first collaboration and the confidence that comes from learning something new.
Avicii’s musical legacy remains firmly embedded in electronic music history. Through Studios For A Better Day, his name is also connected to something less visible but equally meaningful: giving young people the freedom, resources and space to create something of their own.