Best-selling albums in France 2021, by number of units sold

The physical music industry has been deeply impacted by the coronavirus outbreak and registered major losses during the first semester of 2020. Nevertheless, French artists Vitaa and Slimane's album "Versus" topped the charts in France with a total of 220.390 albums sold over that period, streaming included.

The rise of streaming platforms

As physical music sales in stores become increasingly scarce, consumers are shifting their focus to digital purchases. However, streaming music is gradually becoming the norm to the detriment of album unit sales. YouTube is the platform of choice in France in terms of music streaming, especially because it is free. The French platform Deezer is more popular than the global giant Spotify among French consumers and offers monthly subscriptions allowing consumers to stream a wide variety of music live via their smartphone.

An unexpected segment

While the physical music sector is declining in favor of digital music, especially streaming, an unexpected new segment has gained momentum in recent years. Indeed, France has witnessed the growing popularity of the vinyl record market and an unprecedented leap in sales, especially among younger consumers. Belgian artist Angèle sold 34,047 units of her latest album ‘Brol’ in France in 2019, making it the best-selling vinyl record of the year.