Spotify overtakes Deezer in France with growth being driven by 18-34 year olds according to technology market analysts, Omdia. In November 2019 Spotify rose to take 13% of the online audience in France exceeding Deezer by 1 percentage point and overtaking rival service Deezer on its home turf. By April 2020, Spotify’s share rose to 17%, increasing its lead over Deezer to 4 percentage points.
Deezer had initially launched in France in 2007 as a free advertising-supported service. Following the launch of its premium paid service in 2009, the company remained the market leader in France for more than a decade. Deezer gained high penetration over the years and continued to maintain its subscriber base.
Fateha Begum, principal analyst, TV, video and advertising for Omdia, said “Spotify’s increased market share in France marks a major accomplishment, given the country is home to rival service, Deezer. Although Deezer increased its penetration over the previous six months, Spotify now leads the market as its uptake rates were considerably higher. By just about every measure, Spotify is outperforming Deezer on its home court.”
Spotify is largely driving the growth of the French music streaming market with the proportion of online consumers using streaming music services in France increasing by 5 percentage points over a six month period to reach 32% in April. Spotify was responsible for 4 out of those 5 percentage points.
The company also increased its French userbase by more than 30% over the same six-month period. Spotify’s increased uptake almost entirely came from consumers 18-to-34 years in age. Other music services remained relatively flat in terms of penetration across all age groups, including those aged 18 to 34.
In terms of unique music streamers, the uplift in penetration of online users by age mirrored that of Spotify’s. This suggests that Spotify successfully gained a new wave of music streamers and was responsible for the rise in music streaming in France. Spotify has now surpassed Deezer across all age groups except those aged 55-64.
