Streaming: making Swiss music visible
Streaming platforms have become indispensable for music markets. The importance of playlists is greatest, especially at market leader Spotify, but Swiss artists hardly feature in these lists, as there are no curators looking after the Swiss offering and repertoire. An almost insurmountable obstacle to generating visibility, streams and, ultimately, revenue.
Swiss music is therefore clearly under-represented in these playlists, as shown by a comparison of the Swiss versions of these playlists with those from similar markets (Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Finland):
But why is the share of Swiss artists so low? The reason is that Spotify manages the Swiss offering from Berlin with staff employed primarily for the German market, which is ten times larger, and who have no knowledge of the local music scene, let alone that of French-speaking, Italian and Rhaeto-Romanic Switzerland. The Swiss offering is, so to speak, treated on the sidelines, while the main focus is on German and international artists.
As a result, Swiss artists are virtually deprived from the outset of the opportunities that these globally available platforms could offer. Indeed, "invisible" artists will have no fans in Switzerland or abroad, and will generate no revenue, no matter how good their music is.
Swiss music industry associations have been trying to change things for years, but unfortunately their efforts have not led to the goal of having staffed branches in Switzerland of these major streaming platforms. The political world has now become aware of this imbalance and is beginning to react. An interpellation submitted in autumn 2023 by National Councillor Müller-Altermatt, entitled "Streaming market. Putting an end to discrimination against Swiss music creators" received a positive response from the Federal Council. Müller-Altermatt then doubled down with a motion of the same title, calling for the legal bases to be adapted so that companies offering music in Switzerland via streaming are obliged to represent and highlight Swiss music creation in an appropriate and non-discriminatory way when presenting their general and individual offers to customers. These companies must be required to conclude a sectoral agreement with the main associations of Swiss music creators and producers.
We're eagerly awaiting the reaction of the Federal Council and our new Minister of Culture, Elisabeth Baume-Schneider, as well as the will of Parliament to make Swiss music more visible in an effective way through simple instruments. Stay tuned!
Below: streaming accounts for an ever-increasing percentage of music consumption.
