Avicii
Avicii was the stage name of Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer Tim Bergling, whose melodic electronic music helped bring dance music into global pop culture.
Last updated October 2, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Avicii was the professional name of Tim Bergling, a Stockholm-born Swedish DJ, remixer, songwriter, and record producer. Although he died in 2018, the Avicii name remains an active cultural and intellectual-property brand through his recordings, publishing catalog, estate activities, museum presence, digital projects, and continuing licensing and tribute work. Bergling began making and sharing remixes online as a teenager. His early internet activity connected him with dance-music communities and led to a recording relationship with Dejfitts Plays in 2007. He subsequently developed a production style that combined polished house music with strong melodic writing and accessible vocal hooks. Early releases such as “Seek Bromance” established an international audience, while the 2011 single “Levels” became his decisive breakthrough. Its recognizable vocal sample, uplifting progression, and festival-scale production made it one of the defining electronic tracks of the early 2010s. Avicii’s importance extended beyond club music. His work regularly blended electronic production with folk, country, soul, rock, and pop influences. The 2013 single “Wake Me Up,” featuring Aloe Blacc, paired acoustic and roots-inspired songwriting with a dance arrangement and became a major worldwide hit. Other widely recognized recordings included “Hey Brother,” “The Nights,” “Waiting for Love,” and “Without You.” His debut studio album, True, released in 2013, formalized this crossover approach and charted in the top ten in more than fifteen countries. His second studio album, Stories, followed in 2015 and continued his movement between EDM, pop songwriting, and genre experimentation. The commercial identity of Avicii was built around more than recordings. His work appeared in festival performances, remixes, music videos, interactive digital campaigns, brand collaborations, and licensed entertainment. Partners used his international audience and recognizable sound to reach younger consumers, including Volvo Cars, which collaborated with him on the 2015 “A New Beginning” campaign and a reworking of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good.” His album launches also used digital and in-game media, including a United Kingdom campaign for True across console and PC games. Bergling’s touring schedule and health problems became increasingly important parts of his public story. He retired from touring in 2016, while continuing to write and produce music. He died in Muscat, Oman, on 20 April 2018, aged 28. His family later established the Tim Bergling Foundation, focusing on mental-health and suicide-prevention advocacy. The posthumous album Tim was released in 2019 using material Bergling had been developing before his death, with collaborators completing the recordings. Since his death, the estate has worked with partners to preserve and develop his artistic legacy. In 2022, Pophouse Entertainment acquired a 75% interest in Avicii’s master recordings and publishing rights, while the family retained 25%. The arrangement was presented as a long-term partnership intended to protect the tone and stewardship of the catalog. Pophouse and the family also developed Avicii Experience, an interactive museum in Stockholm. Later digital and community initiatives have expanded access to recordings, performances, set lists, archival material, and fan participation. Avicii therefore operates today less as a conventional living-artist business than as a managed legacy brand centered on music rights, archival storytelling, cultural experiences, and responsible remembrance.
History
Tim Bergling was born in Stockholm in 1989 and began experimenting with music software during his teenage years. He posted remixes and productions to online dance forums, where the internet became an important route into the professional electronic-music scene. Dejfitts Plays signed him in 2007, and his early releases gradually attracted attention from DJs, labels, and music publishers. In 2010, “Seek Bromance” reached charts in several European markets, helping establish the Avicii name outside Sweden. His international breakthrough came in 2011 with “Levels.” The track’s expansive house arrangement, memorable melodic structure, and sampled vocal phrase made it a festival and radio phenomenon. Avicii quickly became one of the most visible figures in the global EDM boom, performing internationally and collaborating with vocalists, songwriters, and artists from outside dance music. His production philosophy emphasized song structure and emotional hooks rather than treating dance tracks as purely functional club records. The album True, released in 2013, made that approach explicit. It incorporated country, folk, soul, and pop colors into electronic production. “Wake Me Up,” with Aloe Blacc, became the album’s defining crossover hit, while “Hey Brother” demonstrated Bergling’s continuing interest in roots-oriented melodies. True reached the top ten in more than fifteen countries and helped position Avicii as a songwriter-producer capable of taking electronic music to mass radio audiences. Avicii also became a significant marketing and media property. The True launch included United Kingdom-targeted dynamic in-game advertising on Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC titles. For Stories in 2015, his team used an interactive Instagram narrative, “Avicii Begins,” in which users navigated a fictional mission while hearing music associated with different story paths. These projects showed how an artist brand could connect recordings with games, social platforms, and participatory storytelling. Stories, released in 2015, extended his genre-mixing practice and included tracks such as “Waiting for Love” and “The Nights.” In the same period, he collaborated with Volvo Cars on “A New Beginning,” a global campaign built around his reworking of “Feeling Good.” The campaign linked his personal story of renewal with Volvo’s Swedish heritage and product repositioning. Avicii’s commercial collaborations were generally based on music, image, and audience affinity rather than on a separate consumer-goods product line. The demands of touring had serious consequences for Bergling’s health. He canceled or reduced performances and announced his retirement from touring in 2016, while continuing studio work. He died in Muscat on 20 April 2018. His family subsequently established the Tim Bergling Foundation, and a posthumous album, Tim, was released in 2019 from unfinished material developed before his death. The project was completed with the participation of collaborators and was presented as a continuation of his musical work rather than a conventional new artist campaign. The estate’s later strategy has focused on preservation, controlled licensing, public education, and fan access. In 2022, Pophouse acquired 75% of the recording and publishing catalog in a joint venture with the family, which retained 25%. The partners also created Avicii Experience in Stockholm, an interactive exhibition documenting his creative process and life. Digital community projects and archival releases have continued to make performances and material available while keeping the estate’s mental-health and responsible-legacy mission visible. Avicii is therefore an active posthumous brand whose core assets are recordings, publishing, archives, experiences, and the continuing public meaning of Bergling’s work.
- 2022
Catalog partnership with Pophouse
[3]Pophouse acquired 75% of Avicii’s master-recording and publishing rights, with the family retaining 25%.
- 2019
Tim released posthumously
[1]The posthumous album used recordings and songs Bergling had been developing before his death.
- 2018
Tim Bergling dies
[1]Bergling died in Muscat, Oman, aged 28.
- 2016
Touring retirement announced
[1]Bergling stopped touring while continuing to work on recorded music.
- 2015
Stories released
[1]The second studio album continued Avicii’s blend of electronic music and non-EDM songwriting traditions.
- 2015
Volvo launches A New Beginning
[5]Avicii collaborated with Volvo Cars on a global campaign and a new arrangement of “Feeling Good.”
- 2013
True released
[1]The debut album combined house production with folk, country, soul, and pop influences; “Wake Me Up” became its signature hit.
- 2013
True promoted through in-game advertising
[6]A United Kingdom campaign used dynamic in-game advertising across console and PC games to support the album launch.
- 2011
“Levels” becomes a global breakthrough
[1]The single established Avicii as a leading international electronic-music artist.
- 2010
European breakthrough begins
[1]“Seek Bromance” charted across several European markets and broadened the Avicii audience.
Products and positioning
A globally recognized melodic electronic-music identity associated with emotionally direct songwriting, genre crossover, festival-scale production, and a posthumously managed cultural legacy.
Studio album · 2013
True
Avicii’s 2013 debut studio album established his signature crossover formula: electronic dance production shaped around strong vocal songwriting and influences from folk, country, soul, and pop. It included “Wake Me Up,” “Hey Brother,” and “You Make Me,” and became a major international chart success. Its release helped demonstrate that festival-oriented electronic music could function as a broadly accessible album format.
Studio album · 2015
Stories
Released in 2015, Stories developed Avicii’s interest in combining electronic production with varied songwriting and genre references. The album included “Waiting for Love,” “The Nights,” and “For a Better Day.” Its launch was supported by an interactive Instagram campaign that used branching narrative paths to present different songs and reinforce the album’s storytelling concept.
Posthumous studio album · 2019
Tim
Tim is a posthumous collection built from material Bergling was working on before his death. Collaborators completed and recorded parts of the songs under the direction of the estate and production team. The album was presented as a document of his unfinished creative work and includes “SOS,” “Tough Love,” and “Heaven.”
Interactive museum and cultural experience · 2022
Avicii Experience
Avicii Experience is an interactive Stockholm museum developed by Pophouse and the Avicii Estate. It combines audiovisual installations, music, personal artifacts, studio material, and narrative displays to explain Bergling’s creative process and career. It functions both as a public tribute and as a carefully managed extension of the Avicii intellectual-property estate.
Marketing campaigns
- 2015Volvo Cars A New Beginning
Global · Australia
Avicii and Volvo Cars collaborated on a reworking of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” accompanied by a music video and advertising campaign. The work used Swedish heritage, imagery of renewal, and Avicii’s personal connection to Sweden to support Volvo’s broader brand repositioning.
Outcome. The campaign launched alongside Volvo’s new-generation product and communications push, including the XC90, and was intended to reach a younger and more progressive audience.
- 2015Avicii Begins
Global
Universal Music Sweden and Creative Labs created an interactive Instagram story to promote Stories. Followers played the role of Avicii in a fictional mission against a music-hating villain, making choices that led to different video endings and songs.
Outcome. The campaign was recognized as an engaging, low-cost use of Instagram’s interactive features and presented multiple tracks from the album through replayable story paths.
- 2013Avicii True Album Launch Campaign
United Kingdom
Virgin EMI Records promoted True through dynamic in-game advertising across selected Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC titles. The campaign used geographic targeting and ran during the album’s United Kingdom launch period.
Outcome. The campaign connected an electronic-music album release with gaming audiences, but a public performance result was not reported in the supplied source.
Brand decisions
2022
Pophouse catalog rights transactionM&ABackground
The Avicii Estate sought a long-term structure for preserving and developing Bergling’s recordings, publishing, and cultural legacy.
Action taken
Pophouse acquired 75% of the master-recording and publishing rights through a joint venture with the family; the family retained 25%.
Aftermath
The partnership supported continued catalog management, Avicii Experience, and future legacy initiatives. The transaction value was not disclosed by the primary supplied sources.
2016
Retirement from touringStrategyBackground
Bergling faced health pressures associated with the demands of sustained international touring.
Action taken
He announced that he would stop touring while continuing to create and release recorded music.
Aftermath
The decision shifted the Avicii identity from a touring-led artist business toward studio work and, after his death, estate-led catalog stewardship.
Sources7 sources
- 1Aviciien.wikipedia.org
- 2Avicii official websiteavicii.com
- 3Avicii’s family sell music rights to ABBA star’s companybbc.com
- 4Avicii Estate Sells 75% of Late DJ’s Recordings and Publishing Catalog to Pophousebillboard.com
- 5Volvo Cars and artist and producer Avicii: A New Beginningvolvocars.com
- 6True album launch campaignrapidfire.com
- 7Avicii digital marketing case studymusically.com
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/avicii · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled