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France is ‘struggling’ to reach the paid subscription levels of other major music markets. Is TikTok partly to blame?

France is ‘struggling’ to reach the paid subscription levels of other major music markets. Is TikTok partly to blame?

France, the world’s fifth biggest music market, generated recorded music revenues of €920 million (USD $967m) in 2022, according to local trade body SNEP.

However, in spite of marking the market’s sixth consecutive year of growth, 2022 saw a slowdown in the margin of that growth, with the market’s revenues up by just 6.4% YoY.

In the prior year, 2021, recorded music revenues in France grew 14.3% YoY.

Paid subscription-based streaming, which generated revenues of 426 million ($448m) in 2022, was France’s main driver of recorded music revenue last year, growing 11% YoY.

Streaming, from both ad-supported and paid subscription services, generated revenues €486 million ($511m) in France in 2022, up 13.5% YoY.


Meanwhile, at the close of 2022, according to SNEP, there were 11 million paying subscription accounts in France, up by +1.0 million YoY from 10 million in 2021. (Those accounts were shared by 16 million users, via family plans etc.)

This YoY growth in the number of subscription accounts in France slowed compared to 2021, when the number of paid subscription accounts grew by +1.3 million vs. 2020.

Indeed, the 16 million users of premium subscription accounts in France last year equated to around a quarter of the country’s estimated total population (≈66 million).



These figures have clearly caused concern at the major record companies – SNEP’s largest members – and you can see why: According to IFPI‘s latest Global Music Report, France was the world’s fifth biggest recorded music market in 2021, behind the USA (1), Japan (2), the UK (3), and Germany (4).

SNEP stated in its annual update today: “Regardless of age group, subscription-based streaming is struggling to reach the levels of the other major music markets in France.

“Platforms and [labels] alike have a major challenge on their hands: to convince consumers, young and old, to make the change to subscription-based services.”

So what’s to blame for subscription streaming’s “struggle” to keep growing in France?

One candidate is TikTok – and its soaring levels of popularity amongst young consumers in the territory.

“Record companies are multiplying musical experiences and sources of income, adjusting their strategies… [including] redefining the role of TikTok, whose massive use diverts consumers from subscription-based services, the drivers of today’s music business model.”

Alexandre Lasch, SNEP

Citing an IFPI consumer study from 2022, SNEP reports that while…

Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Music Business Worldwide…