Cock-a-doodle Doo ! Artists produced in France saw their streaming revenues increase by 21% on Spotify in 2022, to 225 million euros, three times more than five years ago, revealed the platform of Swedish origin. “More than half of the royalties generated by artists come from listening to overseas fans. This means that the export share is more than 50%”, rejoices Antoine Monin, general manager of Spotify France and Benelux.
This is the first time that the platform, which claims a quarter of the global streaming market and 210 million paying subscribers for 515 million active users, has published economic data on France, as part of a transparency (and communication) called Loud
The top 10 most listened to artists outside of France range from electro to rap and pop. First we find the French touch trio, namely David Guetta, DJ Snake and Daft Punk. Then come Jul, Manu Chao, M83, Indila, who benefits from the TikTok effect, Aya Nakamura, Ofenbach and Gims. Spotify reports that 59% of Aya Nakamura’s “streams” (digital plays) came from listening to listeners around the world in the last 30 days.
Spotify now pays almost 70% of its revenue from subscriptions and that generated by advertising to music rights holders. “That’s where it gets tricky because we don’t give that revenue directly to the artists. It is impossible for us to say exactly how much an artist ends up earning. It depends on the model he has chosen, especially regarding distribution,” explains the general manager of Spotify France and Benelux. The phonographic part (recording) can go to music labels and distributors, while the publishing part (publishing) remunerates the songwriters.
On Monday, the Swedish streaming giant announced the cut of 200 positions in its podcast business. “The advertising market being very constrained at the moment, it was necessary to readjust”, justifies the leader of Spotify. The Cassandres may see this as a sign of the imminent death of the podcast, which is struggling to find its economic model.