More doom and some gloom for the French record industry, which saw its wholesale value slump 12.2% in the first half of this year when compared to last year. Given 2007's figures in the same period were 17% down on 2006, you could take some heart in the fact that the decline is slowing down, but its still down, down down.
As previously reported, while the UK industry has, in fact, faired quite well if compared to the global decline in record sales, record companies on mainland Europe have experienced a dramatic slump in record sale revenues, and 2008 figures show that continues.
The latest figures from French trade body Syndicat National de l'edition Phonographique show record sales of 278.7 million euros for the first half of 2008. SNEP President Christophe Lameignere, who is also the boss of SonyBMG France, was one of those who did take heart at the fact the decline had slowed a little, saying at a press conference in Paris: "These figures are not a surprise, and in fact we were more pessimistic in our forecasts".
On the up side digital and mobile revenues were up, though Lameignere said the big increase in digital revenues on 2007 was partly a result of golden handshake deals with major digital content platforms, who often pay the labels a big lump sum in order to secure an ongoing licensing deal. All four majors had received such a payment for signing up to Orange's Musique Max service, for example. That said, despite these discrepancies, there was much more to feel positive about in the digital domain.
However, Lameignere stressed, digital services could only help the French record industry recover from recent sales slumps if illegal downloading was combated. On that Lameignere also renewed calls for the internet service providers to take a more proactive role in discouraging illegal file sharing, and called on the French government to announce a timeline for pushing through parliament its commitment to force the net firms to act.
SNEP Director General Herve Rony backed those calls and, while recognising French President Sarkozy had other reforms to also push through, said action was needed sooner rather than later, adding: "We need to know the rules of the game".