Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday the possibility of a tax on streaming which could amount to 1.5%. The main platforms express their opposition.
The declaration almost went unnoticed on Wednesday June 23, the day of the Fête de la Musique, but it is an understatement to say that it caused a reaction in the music sector. Emmanuel Macron has indeed announced that he wants to introduce a tax on music streaming or online listening via platforms such as Deezer or Spotify.
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It is a track that the Head of State brandishes almost as a threat vis-à-vis the sector if the whole sector does not agree before September 30. “The government will reserve the possibility of seizing the Parliament of a mandatory contribution from the platforms” says the press release from the Elysée.
It should be remembered that this idea has been circulating for several months. The objective is both to find new ways of financing creation and, still according to Emmanuel Macron, to “preserving French cultural sovereignty”.
The general idea, with several nuances, is to make music platforms contribute to the sector, as for the cinema. Netflix, for example, devotes part of its turnover in France to audiovisual creation. The President of the Republic relies on a report by Senator Julien Bargeton (Renaissance), dating from April, in which he suggests taxing income from music streaming at 1.75%.
An “unjustified” tax for some and “a strong commitment” for others
AT last fall, the debates focused on a 1.5% tax to help the National Music Center (CNM) to support French creation. An announcement that had already reacted at the time, and not necessarily in good, since the rapper Niska had mentioned “an anti-rap tax” and even a “racist tax”, unjustified knowing that rap, the musical style that is the most popular in streaming, would therefore become the most taxed.
The industry’s reactions are consistent with the existing opposition between the recorded music sector and those responsible for performing arts. Some are delighted with this, such as the Union of Independent French Phonographic Producers (Upfi), which speaks of a “great announcement”. Same trend for the current music union (SMA). “Thanks to the president, a strong commitment”, adds the powerful Prodiss, the National Union of Musical and Variety Shows.
Others are more lukewarm, even hostile. This is the case, unsurprisingly, of the online platforms themselves, who see this as a new tax on players (Deezer or Spotify for the best known) who have not yet found their economic balance and whose activity is not yet profitable according to the Syndicate of publishers of online music services (ESML). Same opposition on the side of Snep, which represents the majors of the disc and a part of the independent producers. For the time being, Emmanuel Macron has asked the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul Malak, to bring together the actors of the music industry, but the exchanges promise to be complicated.