France’s recorded music market grew by 5.9% in the first half of 2024, driven by double-digit growth in paid subscription revenues, with French artists dominating the charts during the period.
According to data from the industry group SNEP (the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing), recorded music turnover in H1 2024 reached EUR €415 million (USD $449 million at the average exchange rate for the half), with streaming accounting for €328 million ($355 million) of that.
Paid subscriptions made up the lion’s share of streaming revenues, coming in at €258.5 million ($279.5 million), or 62.2% of all recorded music revenue. Paid subscription revenue was up 11.3% YoY, the strongest growth of any recorded music segment.
Ad-supported streaming came in at €38.0 million ($41.1 million), up 6.1% YoY. In total, digital music revenues reached €332.7 million ($359.8 million), up 9.6% YoY.
“However, these performances are not enough to make up for the delay in the development of paid streaming in France,” SNEP said in its report.
Turnover in physical music fell 6.8% YoY, to €82.5 million ($89.2 million), driven by a 13.2% YoY drop in CD sales, to €37.8 million ($40.9 million). Sales of vinyl stabilized at €41.8 million ($45.2 million), up 0.2% YoY.
SNEP noted that this was the first time since the 1980s that vinyl outsold CDs.
“We are seeing encouraging results, but they should be better, especially for streaming subscriptions, given the way we still have to go to reach a satisfactory level of maturity,” SNEP CEO Alexandre Lasch said.
“We are seeing encouraging results, but they should be better, especially for streaming subscriptions, given the way we still have to go to reach a satisfactory level of maturity.”
Alexandre Lasch, SNEP
Lasch said he wants to see the government “redefine” the importance of music subscriptions in the country’s Culture Pass program, an app the French government launched that gives young people access to various geolocated cultural and artistic events and venues.
Whether due to government policy or cultural shifts, domestic music is increasingly dominating the recorded music market in France, reflecting a trend towards local music seen in many European countries.
SNEP reported that 16 of the 20 top-selling albums in France in H1 2024 were produced in France, while 72% of the top 200 albums were locally produced. Meanwhile, 15 of the 20 most-streamed tracks were French-language songs.
Nevertheless, global megastars haven’t been pushed out of France’s music scene altogether. SNEP noted that Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, which passed through France in H1, “sparked a real craze around [her] music.”
SNEP noted that many of the other international stars who had a major impact in the first half of 2024 were female, including Billie Eilish, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa, and Beyonce.
During the period, 130 albums were certified, an increase of 20% YoY, SNEP said. That included 73 Gold certifications; 54 Platinum, Double Platinum or Triple Platinum certifications; one Diamond certification; and two Double Diamond certifications.
