Audio streaming large Spotify has launched its first-ever Francophone content material report, revealing a big surge within the consumption of French-language content material on its platform globally over the previous yr.
From August 2023 to July 2024, greater than 100 million customers worldwide engaged with French-language audio content material, together with music, podcasts, and audiobooks, Spotify stated in a weblog put up on Monday (September 30).
Spotify attributed the rise to the range and high quality of French-language choices, in addition to Spotify’s efforts to advertise francophone artists and content material creators via initiatives just like the RADAR program.
Since 2019, streams of French-language tracks have elevated by 94%, with 39 million customers including at the least one French-language music to their private playlists. Up to now yr alone, over 83 million hours of French-language music have been streamed in additional than 180 nations, the information confirmed.
Patrick Watson’s Je te laisserai des mots is probably the most streamed French-language music globally, whereas the most-streamed French-speaking artists in keeping with area embrace Les Cowboys Fringants for North America; Tayc for South Africa, Center East, and Asia; Indila for Asia Pacific; Jul for Europe; and Stromae for Latin America.
The recognition of French-language content material extends past music. Podcasts resembling L’After Foot and L’Heure du Monde have discovered world audiences, as have French variations of in style exhibits like Peppa Pig. Moreover, French language studying podcasts have seen elevated curiosity, suggesting a correlation between music discovery and language studying, Spotify stated.
Jeremy Erlich, Vice President, Head of Music Content material at Spotify, attributed this progress to numerous elements. He stated Spotify has performed a key position in serving to French-speaking artists attain world audiences by facilitating cross-border playlist inclusion and selling collaborations with worldwide artists.
“Our editorial groups on totally different continents repeatedly change data on rising and extra established expertise that may enchantment to our customers, enabling these artists to be built-in into native playlists outdoors French-speaking markets. This offers them visibility and permits them to be heard and found by different audiences,” Erlich stated.
Erlich additionally identified that the language barrier “is not a difficulty,” with listeners embracing French-language content material. He highlighted the success of artists like Yseult, who just lately grew to become the primary French feminine artist to enter the Billboard 200 in over three many years.
The manager additionally famous that whereas French music is appreciated globally, the particular genres and artists that resonate range by area. Latin American listeners favor electro-pop and indie acts like Stromae, Patrick Watson, and Adèle Castillon, whereas Asian Pacific audiences want R&B, pop, and French selection artists resembling Aya Nakamura and GIMS.
“There’s been a pointy rise within the variety of French-language music listeners on Spotify, which fits hand in hand with our growth in lots of markets, and the language barrier is not a difficulty.”
Jeremy Erlich, Spotify
“However there actually are individuals embracing the French language in every single place, and that’s one thing we’ve been noticing for a number of years now. There’s been a pointy rise within the variety of French-language music listeners on Spotify, which fits hand in hand with our growth in lots of markets, and the language barrier is not a difficulty,” Erlich stated.
Spotify’s standalone Francophone content material report got here almost 4 months after the streaming large revealed its first European Union-focused Loud & Clear report, which detailed Spotify listener and royalty information particularly for the European Union. The information revealed that over 65% of income from French artists on Spotify got here from unbiased artists or labels.
The report additionally confirmed that 71% of artists featured in France’s every day prime 50 in 2023 have been French. Greater than half of the revenue for French artists got here from outdoors France, and so they have been found by new listeners 4.8 billion occasions globally all year long, the report added.
Over per week in the past, business group SNEP (the Nationwide Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) reported that France’s recorded music market grew 5.9% yr over yr within the first half of 2024. The surge was pushed by double-digit progress in paid subscription revenues, with French artists dominating the charts in the course of the interval.
Earlier this yr, Spotify raised the worth of its subscription service in France in response to the latest implementation of a authorities tax on music streaming providers. That transfer got here after Spotify threatened to “disinvest” in France and pulled its help for 2 music festivals in an indication of protest towards the streaming tax.
France was the world’s sixth-biggest music market in 2023, in keeping with information from the IFPI.
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