Like the rest of the world, the production and consumption of music in France has evolved considerably in recent years. Physical music dominated the market at first, then its decline increased, while digital music skyrocketed in parallel, to the point of overtaking its predecessor. This has led to a profound rethinking of music production and marketing strategies, as music downloading and streaming became the norm, particularly via platforms such as Spotify and Deezer. As a result, the purchase of physical music content in stores has fallen sharply in favor of digital consumption.
Many record companies are represented in France. Although smaller, such as the German WEA Records and Polydor, they are often attached to giants such as Universal or Warner. The French record company Play Two is one of the few completely independent companies that manages to make it to the top of the most popular labels on radio, television and in nightclubs. Indeed, the 'Big Three' weigh the most on the record company market. This is also true within these groups themselves, with Universal Music, Vivendi's music division, is the group's most lucrative activity. The same case for Sony, which has seen an increase in revenue in recent years, as has Warner. This hegemony does not seem to be threatened, while independent labels are struggling to gain market share.
Though seemingly uniform in appearance, record labels face a constant reshaping of the music industry to meet consumer needs, while at the same time meeting the requirements of artists who work under their name.