Interview with Jean-Christophe Bourgeois (EDHEC Masters 1992), General Manager of Sony Music Publishing France
Every time a musical work from Sony Music Publishing's catalogue is played, recorded or reproduced, royalties are paid to the composers and songwriters, just like any other music publisher. Jean-Christophe Bourgeois (Masters 1992 and Affiliate Professor at EDHEC), Managing Director of the French subsidiary, explains how the shift in the music world in the early 2000s, and then during the COVID period, redefined the relationship with artists, their remuneration and their career development.
How would you summarise your current position and responsibilities?
I supervise the use of our catalogue and help to develop our pool of artists. I'm also in charge of some financial aspects, which can be cross-departmental, and I work on catalogue acquisitions. The institutional dimension, which I've been developing over the last ten years or so, has also led me to sit on the Board of Directors of the Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Éditeurs de Musique (Sacem) – the source of the vast majority of revenue for French music publishers, serving as the intermediary for rights when music is played on the radio, in concerts or clubs or when it’s streamed or reproduced on CD. I’m also Vice-Chairman of the Chambre Syndicale de l'Édition Musicale and Chairman of Tous Pour La Musique, an association with around 30 organisations representing the industry (unions, show producers, platform representatives, press attachés, orchestras, operas, etc.).
What drives you when working with artists?
This work changes completely from one artist to the next. Some of our songwriters and composers are performers of their own work, while others write solely for third-party performers, like our beatmakers, who produce and make tracks for many rappers without being performers themselves. Whatever their profile, we need to support them in their career, help them achieve success and their creative goals, and speak together with one voice. Our contribution varies depending on their career phase and artistic ambitions, but it can and must be essential, because making a living from music is not easy. 120,000 new tracks are uploaded to platforms every day, which gives you some idea how competitive it is and how hard it is to make your voice heard and reach out to the public. I particularly like the work of the publisher in this context, because they’re often involved at the beginning of the artistic process, from production to the development of an artist's repertoire and community, and they have to start telling a story to rally and bring other partners onboard such as record labels or tour agents. I also like the fact that a publisher's relationship with artists can continue for many years. I signed the group KYO when they were 16, and we just celebrated the 20th anniversary of their album Le Chemin, which we re-recorded and used as the basis for a celebratory tour ending with a show at the Accor Arena, before starting work on a new album. Each story is different, and each artist needs to be supported in a specific way that evolves over time: that's what's so exciting.
Has the way you spot artists changed?
No, it's mainly that the sector is constantly renewing itself. Successive revolutions have caused upheaval: the MP3, peer-to-peer file-sharing, the collapse of the CD market, and then the advent of streaming, which has reshuffled the deck and forced artists to release music differently, and even to produce more. Social media has of course become an essential vector for identifying and promoting new music. 10-15 years ago, it was all about networking, recommendations and opening acts. There's been a fairly strong trend in recent years to make data – followers and views on TikTok, Instagram and other platforms – central to the choice of artists signed. Data is an essential source of information, but it doesn't always make for good choices: some artists with very significant data at a particular time won’t necessarily go the distance, whereas a publisher is looking to build careers and assets that will have a high residual value. What's more, when the data validates the beginnings of success, everyone's eyes are already riveted on those artists, and the conditions for signing them become tougher. So the aim is to get in as early as possible, and sometimes to sign artists before they have any significant stats on social media.
What role do artists play in this new environment?
The market is such that record companies often prefer to work with artists who already have a vision rather than create from scratch. Priority is given to those who are autonomous, who know how to develop and engage with a community and build their image. I'm still lucky enough to be able to make bets, but I need to work closely with the artist to successfully build a narrative that is powerful enough to convince other partners to join us in the adventure. Being an artist today is therefore particularly difficult, because of all the roles you have to play at once – which is why people increasingly refer to "artist-entrepreneurs". You have to have the ability to persevere and find your own voice online, create content that gets people excited, understand how the algorithms work, expand your community. I find that, despite all these imperatives, artists manage to produce high-quality music, but at the cost of a great deal of effort, which can have a negative effect on their daily lives, and sometimes even raise mental health issues.
What makes France such a special market?
The private sector is active and dynamic here, which contributes to the high market share of local artists, a specific feature of this country. For example, France is the second biggest rap market after the US, thanks entirely to our local production. And we are fortunate to have a subsidised cultural sector – a model that is sometimes undermined by current budgetary choices – with real ambition for public service that enables us to maintain a high standard of opera and orchestras, and contribute to a diversity of aesthetics that is the envy of many other countries. One of the positive effects of this dynamic is that our music is exported: from the French Touch to jazz and Afro pop, our repertoire travels far and wide. I'm lucky enough to work with electro artists whose music crosses borders, like Gesaffelstein , who composed 4 tracks on Lady Gaga's latest album, Petit Biscuit, whose track 'Sunset Lover' is close to a billion streams on Spotify, and M83, whose music is a reference on the other side of the Atlantic. And then there's Gims and Zaz, whose global success shows that French is no longer a barrier to international success. We are constantly fighting to demonstrate the attractiveness of the French market and its creative qualities.
How has the distribution of copyright between the different media evolved?
The post-COVID years have seen a boom in live music, due to a combination of 2 factors. First, the appetite for sharing music, which brings together very different audiences and cultures, has been very strong in France. Second, many artists who had been prevented from touring during COVID went back on the road as soon as they could. Especially as, for many of them, the growth of streaming has not yet offset the declining revenues from CD sales. Even though the market for recorded music has been enjoying growth for many years, it fell so sharply in the early 2000s that it is far from having recovered to its highest levels.
In addition to the explosion of live music and the development of streaming, songwriters, composers and publishers have also benefited from the growth of the synchronisation market (flat-rate royalties paid for the use of a piece in an audiovisual programme, film, advertising campaign, video game, etc.), which has become an important resource – accounting for around 20% of revenue on average, with a much higher percentage for purely instrumental or electronic music.
What motivates you to sit on the Sacem board?
In my institutional work, I want to give something back. I've wanted to work in the music world ever since I was a child, and I'm lucky enough to be able to do so, alongside people who are extremely committed, talented and passionate. So first and foremost there is a sense of collective interest and the common good. With regard to the Sacem board in particular, I felt it was the right time to put myself forward, because the stakes are higher than ever. For my first year on the board, I wanted to contribute in my own way, eager to serve the community of musicians and publishers who elected me. In fact, there is a growing expectation among our members: beyond representation, we have to make decisions and guide them in an environment that is more complex and a source of anxiety than it was 20 years ago. For example, I worked with the other board members and departments of Sacem on a paper that sets out a clear and tangible position on artificial intelligence for our 240,000 members.
How is Sacem reconciling technological revolutions with the protection of artists?
Protecting members and their works is one of Sacem's key missions. And more broadly, in the longer term, defending the professions of songwriter, composer, publisher, dubber, subtitler and director. 5-year forecasts are difficult, given the rapid evolution of tools and their capacity. So we're trying to think about tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, giving ourselves leeway to constantly adjust our positions, such as in relation to AI. By default, asking authors for permission to use their work, and not registering work created solely using AI, is a strong and clear position at Sacem. We are trying to map out a future with MPs, other politicians and business leaders, showing that economic progress is in no way incompatible with copyright protection, and that it is possible to sign licensing agreements for AI projects that respect human beings. Rather than denigrating technological advances, we need to embrace them and ensure that they protect artists in a climate of transparency and traceability.
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