French music continues to sell well abroad. This is the main finding of the latest study by the National Center for Music (CNM) released on Monday, April 29. In 2023, the public institution recorded 424 export certifications – single or album produced in France – an increase of 30 % compared to 2022. Ninho (12 tracks), Aya Nakamura (nine tracks), PNL (nine tracks) and Indila (nine titles) are the artists with the most certified tracks. The United States, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and China are the countries where French productions are most successfully exported.
The vitality of French music abroad can be explained first and foremost by the phenomenon of synchronization, which refers to the placement of a musical production within an audiovisual work. Thus, listeners to Charles Aznazour's 1964 song "Hier encore" were buoyed by its appearance on the soundtrack of the Netflix series Lupin, starring Omar Sy. Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, who sampled it on the track "Monaco," also contributed to this renewed success.
"TikTok has become a tool for spreading knowledge and promoting artists," observed Jean-Philippe Thiellay, president of the CNM. The association of a song with a trend on the Chinese social media platform is helping to spread French music beyond its borders. The songs "Me Gustas Tu," "Bongo Bong" and "Je ne t'aime plus," by Manu Chao, benefited from this lever.
The majority (55%) of the 54 new artists certified by the CNM did so thanks to a featured track. These include "Casanova" by Soolking and Gazo; Bob Sinclar's "World, Hold On," remixed by Fisher; and "Ku Lo Sa" by Oxlade and Camila Cabello. New releases were better exported as singles than as albums. Of the 76 new certifications approved by the CNM, 67 were singles and only nine were albums.
"The success of French music exports can also be explained by the fact that there are Francophile listening territories," asserted Charlie Fraudeau, marketing director at Universal. In Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands – among the areas most fond of French music – the most popular songs are sung in French. Angèle, Stromae, Aya Nakamura and Ofenbach are the most listened to French-speaking artists in this part of Europe. In China, by contrast, only 5% of certified tracks are sung in French.
The new CNM study does not point to any notable changes compared to the one published in May 2023. The percentage of certifications produced by women is, for example, as low as ever. In 2022, 8% of new certifications were by female artists. In 2023, this share was 4% (excluding mixed collaborations). Another finding is that the majority of certifications are for rap tracks. Afro music is now one of the top 5 genres exported abroad: 14% of newly certified tracks are from this musical genre.