WORLD MUSIC

copies sold in France represents a good score for an independent label. However certain records do notsell more than 300 copies. This is a phenomenon, which is not very surprising if we take into account themass of units published each month.The strength of independents labels lies in their flexibility of action, their capacity of adaptation and theirpower to take risks on a commercial level, as they already do on an artistic one.Tips:For the launch of an album in France :• Identify a partner, ensuring the functions:- Of a human interface between the producer and the distributor- Of an advisor with a capacity of initiative to organize a promotional campaign for the release ofthe album• Coordinate the release of the record with the artists on stage• Launch the promotion of the album long before its release• Favor the sales of records in regional areas with an appropriate promotions plan and the presence of theartists.3.4.3 DISTRIBUTION AND SHOPSThe French world music market has flourished so much that it seems particularly blocked by thecontinuous flow of releases each week. Although we can find numerous imported records in independentdistributors catalog, the number of records available in France for each reference does not often exceed 50copies …In 2003-2004, independent distributors took over a part of the market from majors in crisis. Majorsmarketing operations are very expensive while shipments are reduced. However, the survival ofindependent labels shows that the decline is proportionally equivalent although the financial volume is notcomparable. The fact that French distributors are non-specialized does not favor the exposure ofindependent productions. Labels suffer from the movement of concentration in current independentdistribution and from the redundancy due to this.Whether independent or majors, all labels are confronted to the politics of shipment established by the bigchains of music stores. It is true that spaces dedicated to world music offer a wide variety of products, andare the only ones not to have decreased in surface. However, the period of exposure of all new releases isrestricted to three weeks, with reduced shipments, and the albums that have a slow sale are returned to theFrance Export Handbook–World Music