PARIS, France (CelebrityAccess) — After 4 years of growth, the recorded music market in France held its ground in 2020, recording €781 million in revenue during its pandemic year.
According to a report by French trade body SNEP, the French recording industry was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced a total shutdown of the live entertainment industry, postponed album releases and promotional plans, and curtailed retail sales.
For the year, SNEP reported that physical and digital sales of music for 2020 were up by 4% year-over-year with total sales of €658 million. The year’s results tied with 2008 but represented less than half of music sales from 2002.
However, like many developed nations, France’s shift to digital streaming continued unabated and in 2020, nearly 3/4ths of all net sales for the sector came from digital sales. Streaming increased its turnover by 20%, with more than 50% of annual sales coming from streaming subscriptions.
As well, revenues on streaming increased by 23% while the number of paid users in 2020 topped 12 million, roughly 1/5th of the nation’s population.
Sales of physical media, such as CDs, continued its decline, down by 20% but vinyl has grow, adding 10% over the last year. Vinyl now represents 28% of physical sales, a share that has more than doubled in 3 years and generates higher revenue than video streaming.
“Despite the crisis, the producers have relentlessly pursued the work of development, support and promotion of artists, who have been deprived of a stage for more than a year,” said SNEP Managing Director Alexandre Lasch.
“They continued to take risks and invested more than € 300 million, for new signatures or new productions, for recordings, marketing and all forms of promotion that had to be adapted to the restrictions imposed by the health situation,” Lasch added.
