Audio streaming giant Spotify has released its first-ever Francophone content report, revealing a significant surge in the consumption of French-language content on its platform globally over the past year.
From August 2023 to July 2024, more than 100 million users worldwide engaged with French-language audio content, including music, podcasts, and audiobooks, Spotify said in a blog post on Monday (September 30).
Spotify attributed the increase to the diversity and quality of French-language offerings, as well as Spotify’s efforts to promote francophone artists and content creators through initiatives like the RADAR program.
Since 2019, streams of French-language tracks have increased by 94%, with 39 million users adding at least one French-language song to their personal playlists. In the past year alone, over 83 million hours of French-language music were streamed in more than 180 countries, the data showed.
Patrick Watson’s Je te laisserai des mots is the most streamed French-language song globally, while the most-streamed French-speaking artists according to region include Les Cowboys Fringants for North America; Tayc for South Africa, Middle East, and Asia; Indila for Asia Pacific; Jul for Europe; and Stromae for Latin America.
The popularity of French-language content extends beyond music. Podcasts such as L’After Foot and L’Heure du Monde have found global audiences, as have French versions of popular shows like Peppa Pig. Additionally, French language learning podcasts have seen increased interest, suggesting a correlation between music discovery and language learning, Spotify said.
Jeremy Erlich, Vice President, Head of Music Content at Spotify, attributed this growth to a number of factors. He said Spotify has played a key role in helping French-speaking artists reach global audiences by facilitating cross-border playlist inclusion and promoting collaborations with international artists.
“Our editorial teams on different continents regularly exchange information on emerging and more established talent that might appeal to our users, enabling these artists to be integrated into local playlists outside French-speaking markets. This gives them visibility and allows them to be heard and discovered by other audiences,” Erlich said.
Erlich also pointed out that the language barrier “is no longer an issue,” with listeners embracing French-language content. He highlighted the success of artists like Yseult, who recently became the first French female artist to enter the Billboard 200 in over three decades.
The executive also noted that while French music is appreciated globally, the specific genres and artists that resonate vary by region. Latin American listeners favor electro-pop and indie acts like Stromae, Patrick Watson, and Adèle Castillon, while Asian Pacific audiences prefer R&B, pop, and French variety artists such as Aya Nakamura and GIMS.
“There’s been a sharp rise in the number of French-language music listeners on Spotify, which goes hand in hand with our development in many markets, and the language barrier is no longer an issue.”
Jeremy Erlich, Spotify
“But there really are people embracing the French language everywhere, and that’s something we’ve been noticing for several years now. There’s been a sharp rise in the number of French-language music listeners on Spotify, which goes hand in hand with our development in many markets, and the language barrier is no longer an issue,” Erlich said.
Spotify’s standalone Francophone content report came nearly four months after the streaming giant published its first European Union-focused Loud & Clear report, which detailed Spotify listener and royalty data specifically for the European Union. The data revealed that over 65% of revenue from French artists on Spotify came from independent artists or labels.
The report also showed that 71% of artists featured in France’s daily top 50 in 2023 were French. More than half of the income for French artists came from outside France, and they were discovered by new listeners 4.8 billion times globally throughout the year, the report added.
Over a week ago, industry group SNEP (the National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing) reported that France’s recorded music market grew 5.9% year over year in the first half of 2024. The surge was driven by double-digit growth in paid subscription revenues, with French artists dominating the charts during the period.
Earlier this year, Spotify raised the price of its subscription service in France in response to the recent implementation of a government tax on music streaming services. That move came after Spotify threatened to “disinvest” in France and pulled its support for two music festivals in a sign of protest against the streaming tax.
France was the world’s sixth-biggest music market in 2023, according to data from the IFPI.
Music Business Worldwide