Looking back on the outstanding success of French-produced music on an international level through the SNEP’s seasonal episodes called “Export Success Stories”
Newly introduced by the SNEP, Export Success Stories pay tribute to the influence of artists who are flying the flag for French musical production on the international stage, as well as the work of the teams behind them.
Driven by the global rise in streaming, an increasing number of French-produced artists – well-established and emerging talent alike – are currently experiencing remarkable success worldwide
These artists are the living symbols of the diversity of musical genres and generations; they perform at the largest festivals in the world, from Coachella to Reeperbahn, and their songs top streaming platforms in Germany, the Netherlands, Great Britain, Italy and the USA, as well as in Asia and South America.
Behind the curtains of this success the record labels toil, arranging guest appearances with local stars, organizing sync deals with the most popular series on Netflix, Amazon Prime and Disney+, as well as with global advertising campaigns and video games, all of which greatly contributes to the global reach of French-produced music.
ANGÈLE – Romance / Universal Music France
With the release of her second album “Nonante Cinq” at the end of 2021, ANGÈLE continues to attract international audiences in 2023 with her first North American tour. She performs at the American festival Coachella, where her set is acclaimed by the local press (Rolling Stone, LA Times, NY Times, Consequence…), New York, where she plays 3 sold out nights in a row at Terminal 5, Los Angeles, with a full concert at the legendary Novo, and 2 shows at Montreal’s Bell Centre. In addition to these sold-out dates, the artist created excitement in the spring with her appearance at the MET Gala. She was also invited to the Billboard Women in Music Awards in March, and a mural of her was created in the popular New York district of Soho at the time of her visit to the city. After North America, Angèle continues her international momentum with dates in London (Wembley Arena) and Amsterdam (AFAS) in May 2023. The album “Nonante-Cinq” exceeded the platinum export threshold this year, with over 100,000 copies sold abroad, and her debut album “Brol” goes 3x platinum, topping the 350,000 sales equivalent.
Aya NAKAMURA – Rec.118 / Warner Music France
After being named “Female Artist of the Year” at the Victoires de la Musique awards last February, Aya Nakamura dominated the second edition of the Flammes 2024 awards with six nominations and three trophies: “Female Artist”, “New Pop Album” and, in recognition of her career outside France, “Flamme du rayonnement international”.
Another illustration of this success is the 15 new export certifications she has obtained for 2023, ranging from timeless hits (Djadja, Copines, Pookie) from her album NAKAMURA (2018), which now exceeds one million copies exported (Double Diamond), to her latest opus ‘DNK’, which easily achieves GOLD certification in its first year of release, boosted by the singles ‘Baby’ (Platinum) and ‘T’as Peur’ (Platinum) in collaboration with Puerto Rican star Myke Towers. Following her 3 performances in a sold-out Accor Arena last spring, she performed internationally for the first time, with a first African tour of Congo, Ivory Coast, Mali, the West Indies and London’s OVO Wembley Arena. Her entire repertoire is acclaimed on social networks the world over. In Spain, for example, she scored a simultaneous double hit with one of her latest songs, ‘T’as Peur’ (2023) certified Platinum, and one of her first songs, ‘Le Passé’ (2018) certified Export Gold.
JAIN – Columbia / Sony Music France
The global hit of summer 2023 is French, and it was released in 2015. While ‘The Fool’, a title from the third eponymous studio album by the French artist JAIN, resonates on all radios, a new generation, via social networks, seizes “Makeba” (a title from her first album Zanaka (2015) released by Spookland Records / Sony Music France), propelling this title once again to the forefront, more than 8 years after its release. The artist and label teams managed to transform this viral success into a global phenomenon. The title now has 429 million streams worldwide, including 200 million since May 2023 and nearly 60 billion views on TikTok. It remained at #1 on the Global Shazam Chart for 6 weeks with immense radio and club success across the world, reaching #1 in the US (dance chart), #1 in Germany (club chart), 2nd place in Mexico, 7th place in Italy or 10th place in Mexico). “Makeba” is now certified gold single in Poland and South Africa, platinum single in Italy, Canada, Switzerland and Ireland, diamond single in France, among others. This title is a tribute to South African singer and civil rights activist Miriam Makeba. It combines a relentless rhythm and a powerful gimmick, “oheee” which has made it a timeless anthem.
NINHO – Jefe Production / Rec.118 / Warner Music France
NINHO collects 13 new export certifications this year, from its classics ‘La Vie Qu’on Mène’ and ‘Maman ne le sait pas’ (Diamant export) to his latest hit ‘Eurostar’.
NINHO collaborates for the first time with leading international artists on his ‘NI’ album. From the US (Lil Baby ‘Blue Story’), Great Britain (Central Cee ‘Eurostar’) to Nigeria (Ayra Starr, Omah Lay). He is also featured on the official soundtrack of the EA FC 24 video game, the world’s most popular soccer franchise, EUROSTAR feat. Central Cee is the first export-certified single from the project.
SOOLKING – Capitol / Universal Music France
The multifaceted artist continues his international rise! His rich musical influences and numerous collaborations with artists from around the world in recent years have allowed him to build a loyal audience in many countries. Among others, he has collaborated with Mero (Germany), Boro Boro (Italy), Reynmen (Turkey), Diplo (USA), Dhurata Dora (Albania), Ghali (Italy), Khaled (Algeria)… He unveiled his single “Suavemente” at the beginning of 2022: an unstoppable hit thanks to which he continues to mesmerize his international audience. The title now has more than 100 million streams internationally. In Italy, the song was readapted with local rapper Boro Boro and allowed the single to climb into the top 40 throughout the summer. The success story then continues with the release of his 3rd album “Sans Visa” (June 2022), now equivalent to Platinum with more than 100,000 albums sold abroad. He continues to develop his international career via live performances as well. 2022 marked the start of a sold-out world tour in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Italy…As for his latest single “Casanova” feat. Gazo, released at the beginning of July 2023, has already accumulated more than 100 million streams worldwide. The song quickly went viral on TikTok thanks to its melody and unstoppable gimmicks. At the same time, radio broadcasts continue to grow.
Ibrahim MAALOUF (Label Mister Ibé), an undisputed figure on the contemporary French music scene, made his mark on the world stage by becoming the first Franco-Lebanese instrumentalist to be nominated for the 65th Grammy Awards in 2022 for his album « Queen of Sheba », in collaboration with Angélique Kidjo. During that same year, Ibrahim Maalouf unveiled his 17th album entitled « Capacity to Love », earning him a new nomination at the 66th Grammy Awards for the song « Todo colores », in collaboration with Cimafunk, Tank & The Bangas, in the Best Global Music Performance category.
Expanding his reach beyond France, Ibrahim Maalouf has since consolidated his position as an outstanding musician, producer, arranger and performer. His shows consistently sell out in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe as well as in Turkey and the Middle East. In 2022/2023 he performed in total in front of almost 450,000 fans, and had over 100 million tracks streamed.
Ibrahim Maalouf has established prestigious collaborations with renowned artists such as Sting, De la Soul, Sharon Stone, A$AP Rocky, J Balvin, Gregory Porter, Jon Batiste and Marcus Miller, thanks to the wealth of experience of Quincy Jones. Critical praise for his last two albums from the New York Times, The New Yorker, NPR and WNYC attest to global recognition of Maalouf’s talent. His artistic development in the United States and Canada over the past two years has met with huge success, with sold-out concerts in the fall of 2022. Maalouf’s 2024 North American tour promises to be a logical continuation of the trumpeter’s upward trajectory, further consolidating his pole position on the international musical scene.
Ibrahim Maalouf’s exciting new project, “Trumpets of Michel Ange”, is more than just an album. The trumpet virtuoso’s ambitious initiative also aims to democratize the 1/4-tone trumpet invented by his father. In collaboration with Adrien Jaminet, renowned luthier at Atelier des Cuivres, and Maison Antoine Courtois, these instruments are now available to musicians the world over. On this album, Ibrahim Maalouf joins forces with international artists such as Trombone Shorty, Endea Owens, Golshifteh Farahani, as well as Toumani and Sidiki Diabaté. Together, they create music that transcends borders and brings together diverse influences. T.O.M.A. Trumpet accompanies Ibrahim Maalouf and his trumpeters on their world tour, including an Asian tour scheduled for late November and early December. The album’s first singles, “Fly With Me” and “Love Anthem” – the latter accompanied by a video shot in Uganda – have been a huge success since their release, reaching the top 10 of the iTunes jazz charts in Sweden, the UK and France, with #1 spots in Belgium, Switzerland, Rwanda, Austria, the Netherlands, Turkey and Portugal. This success testifies to the global impact of Ibrahim Maalouf’s music and his innovative project, consolidating his position as a major figure on the international music scene.
VIDEOCLUB – Petit Lion Productions/Columbia /Sony Music France
“Amour Plastique”, the hit song of the Nantes group Videoclub (Adèle Castillon and Matthieu Reynaud), outlived the group and even experienced new growth on an international scale, thanks in large part to the release of Ridley Scott’s film « Napoleon ».
While this association may at first glance seem surprising, it originated in a series of memes featuring the phrase « There’s nothing we can do », uttered by a despairing and disillusioned Napoleon in Scott’s eponymous film released in theaters in November. This series of memes, accompanied by a slowed-down version of “Amour Plastique” quickly spread on social networks, particularly in Mexico and the United States, where the original track had been well-received three years previously.
Thanks to this successful organic growth, and the concerted efforts of recording artist and record label teams, what had initially been a niche viral hit managed to become a global phenomenon, reaching #5 on the Shazam Global Chart, with over 2.2 million creations and 6.2 billion views on TikTok, not to mention nearly 271 million streams worldwide.
This success story, which occurred while the two artists themselves were busy launching their respective solo careers, illustrates the importance of music catalogues on the music scene, particularly among
