What the France
Created to highlight the diversity of music produced in France, “What the France” is the National Music Center’s promotional division. By supporting emerging talent and showcasing the country’s musical heritage, the division promotes and raises the profile of music produced in France.
In 2017, the Bureau Export created the “What the France” brand.
The “Burex” thus positioned itself as the leading operator in supporting the international distribution of music produced in France and in fostering connections between French and international professionals. It deemed it necessary and beneficial to create a promotional tool that would showcase music produced in France (known as “made in France”) worldwide through a single, identifiable platform.
In 2020, with the creation of the CNM, What the France was entrusted with new missions: promoting emerging artists, showcasing and celebrating France’s musical heritage, and supporting diversity in musical styles—all in addition to its historic and foundational role in supporting music exports and cultural outreach.
Today, to further these objectives, What the France offers playlists, videos, and articles, and collaborates with numerous partners in the cultural industry on events and content.
Our team at the CNM
A dedicated team within the Development, Communications, and Partnerships Department works on brand and content development, managing playlists, and engaging our social media audiences ! Are you involved in the world of music produced in France ? Feel free to contact us so we can work together to promote your initiatives.
How are our playlists put together ?
Content selection on “What the France” is carried out as follows :
- Genre-based playlists : divided into 9 categories (Electro, Urban Music, Chanson, Pop, Rock, World Music, Jazz, Classical, Reggae). The playlist manager carries out a weekly review via newsletters and platforms (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music, etc.). Only new releases (up to 3 months after release) with export potential are selected, assessed according to global audience, location, topicality and international success. Each playlist contains 90 tracks, which are featured for an average of 3 months.
- Charts Playlists : ‘French Hits In France’ and ‘French Hits Worldwide’. These two playlists list tracks charting in France and outside France respectively. Each playlist contains 50 tracks, updated weekly.
- Playlist of the Month : a selection of new releases combining established and emerging artists, with 100 tracks featured each month.
- Themed playlists : a selection based on a specific theme, curated according to a track’s international or local relevance, and regularly updated to reflect new releases
- Event playlists : based on the artists performing at specific events. Minimum of 15 tracks, with no maximum limit.
- Curated playlists : a designated influencer is given free rein to select between 20 and 50 ‘made in France’ tracks.
- Latest Releases : a selection of new releases each week across all genres, based on the tracks’ export potential. 90 tracks; 15 to 25 are added or removed each week, with an average playtime of 1.5 months.
