France posted 5.4% growth for its recorded music market to reach revenue of €449.56 million in 2016, according to industry body SNEP. Physical sales were the largest source of revenue for the nation at €267 million, even though that sector saw a 2.5% drop on-year.
Combined subscription and ad-supported streaming was the second-largest source, with a 37% increase to €143.6 million. That statistic includes both video and audio streams. It’s a big jump for streaming, but 2016 was a slower year of growth after the 45% increase posted in 2015. Subscription services were responsible for 81% of total streaming revenue.
Although the performance was positive in that France saw its market increase, the return to form is small after nearly a decade of steadily dropping revenue. For context, the 2016 revenue is less than half of the annual sales reported in 2005 (€966 million). However, with streaming now commanding a market share of 41% and growing, this could still be the start of a turn-around for France.