Record industry: "The second confinement is much harder" than the first

INTERVIEW

"In the recording industry, we were like 'we've seen others, we're a bit like the steel industry'."

That was during the first containment linked to the coronavirus, in the spring.

But while France is again at a standstill, or almost, for two and a half weeks, Bertrand Burgalat is much more pessimistic in his predictions for the record sector.

According to the president of the National Union of Phonographic Publishing (SNEP), guest of

on Europe 1 Tuesday morning, "with the second confinement, we are in the process of joining our friends of the show", totally at a standstill.

>> LIVE - 

Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Tuesday, November 17

For the boss of the Tricatel label, "the second confinement is much harder (than the first) because there, on physical products, these two months of November and December represent 40% of the year. In reality, a lot of records are gifts "of Christmas, with celebrations taking place this year in a particular context.

Burgalat denounces "negative equity"

"Even before confinement, we achieved about a third of what was the turnover of recorded music at the beginning of the 2000s", continues Bertrand Burgalat, elected at the head of the SNEP in September.

"We still had a lot of catching up to do. And during the first confinement, the figures were quite stable because streaming continued to progress. But obviously, physical sales have collapsed while they still remain important", de around 40% of total sales, compared to 60% for digital. 

CORONAVIRUS ESSENTIALS

> Covid: where do we get infected the most?

Lessons from an American study

> Covid vaccine: what are the remaining obstacles to overcome?

> Covid: should we be concerned if the headaches persist after recovery?

> When are we in contact?

And other questions that we ask ourselves every day

> Coronavirus: the 5 mistakes not to make with your mask

The second confinement and the closure of cultural departments therefore further disrupt the entire recording sector, from popular figures to more confidential artists.

"There is a form of negative equity which means that all of a sudden, by a kind of Jacobinism and a little fallacy, not only are record stores prohibited from selling records, but suddenly, cultural shelves are prohibited. ", denounces Bertrand Burgalat, criticizing the logic of the government:" They say that there are 10,000 people who do not have running water in France. There is no problem, we will cut off the running water to other homes! "

"Superinfection" in the crisis

The leader points to a "superinfection" for an already fragile sector: "Obviously, there was a drop in record sales, but there is also a drop in neighboring rights. As the music is no longer broadcast in stores, restaurants, etc., copyright via Sacem and neighboring rights via the management companies of collective management organizations "are no longer collected.

This contributes to "40 to 50% less perception".

Bertrand Burgalat also deplores a shortfall in "irreparable" rights vis-à-vis the United States, another more complex problem.

>> Find Culture-Médias in replay and podcast here

Finally, the president of Snep is surprised by the fact that the government has decided not to offer the postal franchise of a euro cent for record stores, unlike booksellers.

"Maybe Bruno Le Maire doesn't make a record, it's true. It's a distinction that is based on nothing."