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The French live music market is one of the largest in Europe but behaves slightly differently to others on the continent due to cultural protectionism policies around French creators and the French language.
Live Nation, AEG, and CTS Eventim are the heavyweight promoters in the country, but there are a multitude of local promoters, including Gérard Drouot Productions, Opus Live, Öctöpus, Azimuth Productions, Alias, Caramba, Loud Booking & Events, Super!, Radical Production, Bleu Citron, Live Affair, Auguri Productions, and A Gauche de la Lune.
Despite the size of the French market, conditions are still tough for those operating at the small- and mid-level, especially as the biggest players grow bigger and take more control of the summer festivals.
“We have the feeling [that] ticket sales are slightly slower with respect to emerging artists now,” says Cyril Bahsief, co-CEO at Öctöpus.
Anthony Chambon, CEO of Opus Live, says French hard rock acts are now starting to break through, despite the genre not necessarily being one that people traditionally associate with the market. He looks after a number of these rising acts, such as Landmvrks and Rise of the Northstar. He also handles Slam Dunk Festival France, with acts like Sum 41, Offspring, and All Time Low playing since its launch in 2023.
“We have the feeling [that] ticket sales are slightly slower with respect to emerging artists now”
“Something is definitely happening for French [hard rock] acts in the world,” he says, hinting that such acts could start to replicate the export power of Daft Punk, AIR, Phoenix, and Cassius, more typically from the electronic world.
Beyond its own domestic electronic acts, hip-hop is huge in France, with promoters there suggesting that the country is the second-biggest market for hip-hop in the world after the US, driven by an especially vibrant local rap scene.
On top of this, because of streaming broadening what consumers listen to, there is growing demand for K-pop (as seen with South Korean TV network Mnet bringing its multi-act M Countdown TV chart show to France in August 2023) and J-pop acts, making France an increasingly diverse live market. EDM is growing steadily and long-standing pop variété (essentially a pop twist on chanson) remains solid.
One genre, however, is struggling at the moment due to a variety of issues. “World music is experiencing a decline due to the lack of media support and visa problems,” says Léo Tran, project manager and booker at Azimuth.
The market is, overall, structured to support domestic acts. “That means that our local scene is stronger than ever,” says Öctöpus co-CEO Marie Favre. “If you look at French festivals’ lineups, you will see that 80% of the artists are French. This is the result of a long-term public strategy that funds local artists and their producers.”
Producers in the live context are something unique to the French market. “It’s like a label but for the tour,” explains Chambon. “We represent the artist globally. We find the agent for each territory. We finance all the costs – the rehearsals, all the production, all the transport, the accommodation.
“If you look at French festivals’ lineups, you will see that 80% of the artists are French. This is the result of a long-term public strategy that funds local artists and their producers.”
That’s why the investment is a little bit different than for a promoter who promotes international artists.”
Most French promoters say that acts coming into the market or international bookers planning their tours need to think far beyond the capital as there is a huge amount of untapped potential elsewhere.
“We tend to think Paris is really the key city to build in,” explain Bahsief. “It is indeed, but the more we go on, the more it is important to work in major cities. Doing well in terms of ticket sales in Lyon, Lille, Nantes, or Bordeaux makes a difference when booking summer festivals.”
Chambon adds that this is something promoters need to address in order to maximise the potential of the French market. “For the international artists, it is usually one show in Paris, maybe two or three shows in the main markets – Lyon, Nantes, Toulouse, Strasbourg, Lille,” he says.
That said, there are issues increasingly facing international acts touring in Europe that could cause long- term problems specifically in France.
“Production costs are higher than ever,” says Chambon. “So there are a lot of artists, especially American artists, not coming to Europe because of these very high … production costs. I also know that artists are asking for too much money – especially [those] from the US.”
“Production costs are higher than ever, so there are a lot of artists, especially American artists, not coming to Europe because of these very high … production costs.”
Economic issues are also affecting local acts in a variety of ways. Tran says costs are rising for live music in France while public subsidies are declining.
“In France, because of the political and economic situation, it seems most likely that public subsidies for culture are going to drop,” he says. “As the state plays a significant part in the market development in France, we can expect that several public venues will have to reduce the number of shows they can promote each year.”
This is a tricky market conundrum that promoters and acts are increasingly having to navigate, but it is being exacerbated by demographic shifts.
“From a sociological point of view, we have observed that Gen Z does not have the same kind of cultural habits as previous generations,” says Tran. “They now take up a smaller part of global ticket sales than before. While young people have always [played] a prevailing role with new musical movements, for multiple reasons, it is more complicated for venues now to make them come to live shows.”
Major festivals like Rock en Seine, Lollapalooza Paris, and Pitchfork have created new dynamics in the French market, drawing in international acts and tourists. But rising production costs and declining subsidies make things increasingly complex in this powerhouse market: trying to balance things to make shows profitable but not in a way that drives away attendees.
“From a sociological point of view, we have observed that Gen Z does not have the same kind of cultural habits as previous generations”
“France is very specific in terms of administrative issues, which makes us unique and does not always help emerging artists to develop their careers, as local taxes tend to be higher than anywhere else,” says Favre.
“I know that some of the French promoters are increasing ticket prices a lot,” summarises Chambon. “But I’m wondering if these ticket prices can be justified by the increase [in] production costs and the increase [in] artist fees. Some of the French promoters try to keep prices reasonable.”