News

European artists do not benefit fully from the single European market

  • New study shows that European repertoire struggles to cross borders within the EU
  • Scottish Music Centre
  • 7 Aug 2012

Music repertoire from the European Union is widely played on radio and downloaded by consumers in the EU, but artists from the region struggle to achieve recognition and success within EU countries, according to an extensive study analysing the cross border flow of music repertoire within the EU, which will be presented on January 10, 2012 at the Eurosonic/Noordeslag festival/conference in Groningen (Netherlands).

The 120-page report is based on Airplay and Digital data supplied by global research and measurement company Nielsen. It analyses the presence of various repertoires – including repertoire from the European Union – in the Top 200 most played songs and most downloaded tracks in France, Germany, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden, and on a pan-European basis.

The main findings are the following:

- European repertoire fares quite well on a national level with local repertoire but the number of European artists capable of transforming a local success into a cross-borders success is quite limited.
- The only music that crosses borders without limitations is US-based repertoire.
- Even UK repertoire has difficulties crossing borders, as few British artists have pan-European success (Adele in particular).
- Countries from Southern and Eastern/Central Europe are less likely to have cross-borders successes than countries from Northern Europe. However, Romania is becoming a significant source of repertoire.
- In each European country, English-language repertoire heavily dominates the airwaves and digital downloads, with shares of local language music varying by country, but never over 25%.
- European music genres that cross borders are usually in the Dance and Pop fields. US acts that fare well on a pan-European basis are in the R&B, Hip-Hop, Dance and Pop field.
- Rock, as a music genre, is almost non-existent in the European listings.

The study was underwritten by Brussels-based organisation European Music Office, in partnership with Dutch festival/conference Eurosonic/Noordeslag with the support of Nielsen, the global measurement and analytics company.

It aims at monitoring and analysing the cross-borders flows of repertoire within the EU in 2011 in order to identify patterns and suggest policies to address deficiencies in the single music market.

For the first time a study provides quantifiable data on the circulation of repertoire in Europe, said European Music Office director Jean-Marc Leclerc. Even if it does not cover the whole of Europe, the findings of this study do not come as a surprise to us and highlight the difficulties for European repertoire to travel within the continent. We hope that this snapshot will incite policy-makers to look at the ways in which the situation could be improved for European artists.

What this study demonstrates is that European artists do not enjoy the same level playing field in the EU as do American artists, who have traditionally enjoyed sales and radio airplay on a pan-European scale, added Peter Smidt, coordinator of Eurosonic/Noordeslag. These market conditions have serious consequences on the ability of European artists to build a following and a career on a regional scale.

The music scene in Europe is very strong, creative and diversified, commented Emmanuel Legrand, a London-based journalist and media consultant and author of the report. Each country within the European Union has a solid local music scene. However, what this study shows is that due to the structure of the various national markets, the existence of language diversity and different cultural behaviours in the region, the flow of repertoire across borders within the EU is far from reflecting the notion of one single market.

This report has been commissioned, financed and published by the European Music Office and Eurosonic/Noordeslag and is available here: http://www.emo.org / http://festival.eurosonic-noorderslag.nl/nl/

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