“
Everything is not so easy
”, as NTM rapped: with 968 million euros in turnover, the French recorded music market will grow by 5.1% in 2023, a 7th consecutive year of growth, but subscription streaming is lagging, according to figures released Tuesday.
The National Union of Phonographic Publishing (Snep), in a press release, draws up a “
satisfactory observation
” but puts it into perspective with “
an income which barely reaches 53% of the historic level of 2002
”.
Of these 968 million euros, 620 million, or three quarters, come from digital (streaming) compared to 195 for physical (CD, vinyl), the rest coming from synchronization (films, series, advertisements, video games, etc. .) and related rights.
This is where Snep points
to “new challenges
”.
At the forefront, “
digital growth
” is “
lagging behind in France, compared to the Top 10 global markets
”.
The increase of "
10% in subscription streaming revenues
" remains "
too weak to fully fuel the development of the market
", while "
it is the primary source of value creation
", develops the union.
France thus lists “
12 million subscriptions
”, with “
just one million units (more) each year for three years
”.
Also read: How Universal Music and Deezer want to revolutionize the economy of music streaming
TikTok, the threat
That is a penetration rate of 16% for the paid subscription, “
one of the lowest
” among the main markets in the world.
The paid subscription penetration rate is, by comparison, 17.5% in Germany, 26.5% in the United Kingdom and 30.1% in the United States.
The growth in revenue from these subscriptions “
is slowing down here, while our market is far from having reached maturity
,” laments Snep.
The development of paid streaming is “
a major challenge in an inflationary context
”, continues the representative body.
Spotify France, world leader in the music streaming market, is also considering an upcoming increase in its subscription.
The platform is justified by the additional costs “
imposed
” by the streaming tax approved in the country.
Furthermore, Snep notes that subscriptions to musical services “
are in direct competition with cinema, audiovisual and sport offers
”.
Snep highlights “
a battle to be won
”, in the face of “
increasingly volatile uses, increasingly concentrated on short video formats such as TikTok
”. The union recalls that the popularity of the latter platform “
relies on music, which nourishes 85% of its content, without remunerating it commensurate with this contribution
”.
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Aya Nakamura, powerful woman
And to describe “
short videos which had initially created a new source of visibility and discovery for new products
” but which “
now capture and divert the attention of fans of audio streaming services
”.
An observation that resonates with the current conflict between the American music industry giant Universal Music Group (UMG) and TikTok, owned by the Chinese group ByteDance, over artist remuneration.
This standoff hardened further at the beginning of March with the withdrawal of the platform of several stars including Harry Styles, after those of Taylor Swift and the Beatles.
Snep, however, highlights another positive point of this highly anticipated annual report: “the dynamics and successes of French musical production (or produced in France in the broader sense)”, with 17 of the 20 best album sales.
Snep awards a “
special mention
” to rap, hip-hop and R&B.
Note that Aya Nakamura, R&B star, is the “
only woman present in the top 20 places for a solo project
” in France for sales in 2023. A fact to remember then that the Franco-Malian, who could sing in opening of the Paris Olympic Games (July 26-August 11), is targeted by the French far right, who consider it illegitimate for this world exhibition.