Across music, podcasts, and audiobooks, Spotify listeners are turning toward French-language content. In fact, more than 100 million users worldwide listened to at least one piece of audio content in French between August 2023 and July 2024. This phenomenon is driven by the richness and diversity of said content, as well as Spotify's efforts to boost the export of French-speaking music and podcasts through programs like RADAR.
When it comes to music, the French touch had already conquered the world in the '90s, thanks to the success of several French artists on the international scene. But today, in addition to francophone songs performed by artists from France, hitmakers from Quebec, Belgium, and Algeria also have the world dancing.
To date, 39 million Spotify users have added at least one track sung in French to a personal playlist. And since 2019, French-language music streams have surged by 94%, indicating that the sounds and rhythms created by artists from French-speaking countries are appealing to an ever-growing audience.
In the span of 12 months, more than 83 million hours of French-language music resonated in more than 180 countries on Spotify. This represents an average of 50 minutes of music listening per month by non-French-speaking audiences-and when French-language podcasts and audiobooks are added to the mix, that average monthly consumption reaches four hours.
Let's take a closer look at how francophone music is transcending language barriers on Spotify.
Spotify's most-streamed French-language songs globally
Je te laisserai des mots - Patrick Watson
Derni re danse - Indila
Alors on danse - Stromae
Casanova - Gazo and Soolking
B cane A COLORS SHOW - Yam
Spotify's most-streamed French-speaking artists by region North America
Les Cowboys Fringants
Patrick Watson
Stromae
Souldia
Indila
South Africa, Middle East, and Asia
Tayc
Ninho
Gazo
Dadju
Soolking
Asia Pacific
Indila
Patrick Watson
Aya Nakamura
GIMS
Stromae
Europe
Jul
Gazo
Werenoi
Ninho
PLK
Latin America
Stromae
Patrick Watson
Videoclub
Indila
Ad le Castillon
For the Record sat down with Jeremy Erlich, Vice President, Head of Music Content at Spotify, to learn more about the rise of French-language content on our platform.
Tell us more about the francophone music scene and its runaway success. French-language music has always been the stuff of dreams the world over, but physical constraints have not always made it easy for certain artists to export their music and meet their audiences in the four corners of the globe. Spotify has played a key role over the last few years in the rise and export of French-speaking artists from many countries. Our editorial teams on different continents regularly exchange information on emerging and more established talent that might appeal to our users, enabling these artists to be integrated into local playlists outside French-speaking markets. This gives them visibility and allows them to be heard and discovered by other audiences.
Also, it's a credit to French-speaking artists and the power of this music that these artists feature their peers from all over the world-like Dua Lipa and Ang le with Fever, or Aya Nakamura and Stormzy with Plus Jamais, or more recently, Aya Nakamura and Ayra Starr with Hyp . And then sometimes we have an artist like Yseult, who found herself at the top of our world charts for several weeks with Alibi, a track in collaboration with other international artists. She's the first French female artist to enter the Billboard 200 in more than 30 years, the last being Jane Birkin! She's one of my latest favorites, and I invite you to discover her just-released album, MENTAL.
Is there one continent or region that appreciates francophone music the most on Spotify? That's what's so striking-all regions of the world are embracing the richness and diversity of the French-language music scene. What we notice is that from one place to another, we don't necessarily find the same sounds or the same artists resonating with audiences. In Latin America, electro-pop or indie music in French are particularly popular with our users, embodied by artists like Stromae, Patrick Watson, or Ad le Castillon. If we look at Asia Pacific, users gravitate toward artists like Aya Nakamura or GIMS, who are more into R&B, pop, or French variety. But there really are people embracing the French language everywhere, and that's something we've been noticing for several years now. There's been a sharp rise in the number of French-language music listeners on Spotify, which goes hand in hand with our development in many markets, and the language barrier is no longer an issue.
What's on your personal playlist? Which French-speaking artists have impressed you in recent years? It's a long list! Like our users, I have quite varied and eclectic tastes. I'll never tire of the Fonky Family, a group from Marseilles who played a key role in the explosion of the Marseilles hip-hop scene. I'm proud that we support and partner with Les Flammes-the first music awards ceremony dedicated to rap and popular culture in France-and I was delighted to see Le Rat Luciano, one of the members of the Fonky Family, win the Flamme Eternelle last year, which was well deserved.
Belgian artists, meanwhile, are omnipresent in my playlists. Ang le never ceases to surprise and reinvent herself, including with the latest version of Nightcall with Phoenix and Kavinsky, following that incredible performance at the closing ceremony of the summer games. Stromae is another avant-garde artist with undeniable talent who has conquered the world. His festival performance in Palm Desert two years ago thrilled the entire audience, just like Daft Punk in their day, or Gesaffelstein.
Serge Gainsbourg's
Europe Stories
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Composition Builder 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Composition Builder 2025 application for macOS enables TV stations and Live Event broadcast...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:live pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:live pro 2025 is a Single Channel Live Production Playout solution for video and static or real-t...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr just:play pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:play pro 2025 is a Single Channel automated 24/7 Master Control playout solution with SD, HD and ...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAr live:cut 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: live:cut is an option to just:in mac pro 2025 and enables multicamera production workflows for up to 16 cam...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite NDI 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite NDI application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specific...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Just In Mac Lite 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: The Just In Mac Lite application is a streamlined media capture solution designed specifically for...
03/12/2025
ToolsOnAir just:in mac pro 2025 Boilerplate
More Details: just:in mac pro is a macOS-based client-server multichannel capture solution to record SDI, HDMI, N...
03/12/2025
Tracy Bonareri Onchoke, Thomson's Young Journalist of the year 2025 is hoping the accolade will be a springboard to more cross-border collaboration between ...
03/12/2025
For the fourth time, Bad Bunny is the most-streamed Wrapped artist on Spotify gl...
03/12/2025
The wait is over. It's time to look back at the audio that defined your year with 2025 Spotify Wrapped, our annual celebration for fans, artists, creators, ...
03/12/2025
Por cuarta vez, Bad Bunny es el Top Artista Global de Wrapped en Spotify, con 19...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is back, and as always, it's powered by the billions of streams that fans around the world delivered throughout the year. From the artists w...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped is the moment when hundreds of millions of fans around the world...
03/12/2025
With more than 700 million listeners around the world turning to Spotify to soundtrack their lives, it's time to look back at the audio that defined the yea...
03/12/2025
Con m s de 700 millones de oyentes en todo el mundo usando Spotify para acompa ar su d a a d a, es momento de mirar hacia atr s y ver el audio que marc el a o....
03/12/2025
From page-turning thrillers to inspiring memoirs, audiobooks are becoming a core...
03/12/2025
Com mais de 700 milh es de ouvintes em todo o mundo recorrendo ao Spotify para embalar seu dia a dia, chega o momento de revisitar o udio que marcou o ano. Nos...
03/12/2025
Spotify Wrapped celebrates the audio that defined our year, and the annual globa...
03/12/2025
Wuppertal December 3, 2025
Riedel and Haivision Join Forces to Advance Wireless Video TransmissionRiedel Communications today announced a new partnership with...
03/12/2025
Tell us a little bit about your job I am a Digital Marketing Executive working on Paid Social, PPC, and Organic Social. I joined the team in May 2025 and am enj...
03/12/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. and VIENNA - Dec. 3, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) and Normann...
03/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Celebrate 2025's top Irish sporting stars with RT Sport Awards live from RT Studios on RT One and RT Player
RT pays tribute to Ror...
02/12/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
02/12/2025
--
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), and the International Telecommunication Unio...
02/12/2025
Harmonic's cOS Platform Will Redefine Subscribers' Quality of Experience, Lowering Churn SAN JOSE, Calif. - Dec. 2, 2025 - Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today...
02/12/2025
S an Nollaig
Hollywood blockbusters The Banshees of Inisherin, Barbie and Oppenheimer make their Irish TV debut
Tune into the classics such as Love Actual...
02/12/2025
Showcasing fresh Irish storytelling and emerging talent Storyland 2025 signals a fantastic time for Irish drama
RT and F s ireann/Screen Ireland are proud to...
01/12/2025
MANCHESTER, UK - November 2025 - Announced two days before the 30th anniversary of Oasis' debut album, Definitely Maybe, the Oasis Live '25 tour marks t...
01/12/2025
01 Dec 2025
Kyivstar and Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation Select Go...
01/12/2025
The prequel to the global hit Sky Original mob crime saga, Gomorrah' is a s...
01/12/2025
Featuring Florence Welch, Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Flea, designer Bella Freud...
01/12/2025
Fox Corporation Chief Financial Officer Steve Tomsic to Participate in Upcoming ...
01/12/2025
Arvato Systems' Virtual Private Cloud (VPC) Receives BSI C5 Certification (T...
01/12/2025
Summary This short video gives you an summary of the changes in under two minutes.
--...
01/12/2025
As the festive season approaches, RT Supporting the Arts is proud to showcase a...
01/12/2025
Festive specials of Christmas in Kilmainham presented by Marty Whelan, High Road Low Road, Callan Kicks the Year and Keys to My Life
Ring in the New Year with ...
01/12/2025
Architect and television presenter Hugh Wallace, best known to RT audiences as a long-serving judge on Home of the Year, has died at the age of 68.
In a state...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
Across music, podcasts, and audiobooks, Spotify listeners are turning toward French-language content. In fact, more than 100 million users worldwide listened to at least one piece of audio content in French between August 2023 and July 2024. This phenomenon is driven by the richness and diversity of said content, as well as Spotify's efforts to boost the export of French-speaking music and podcasts through programs like RADAR.
