Spotify Withdraws Support From 2 French Music Festivals Due to Country’s Streaming Service Tax

Spotify is pulling its support from two of France’s upcoming music festivals due to the country’s latest change in tax law.

The streaming service’s managing director in France, Antoine Monin, discussed the situation on X (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday.

“Following the announcement of the implementation of a tax on music streaming in France, we regret to announce that Spotify France will stop supporting the Francofolies de la Rochelle and the Printemps de Bourges,” Monin wrote, translated from French.

The company’s financial and activation support will be pulled in the new year “in favor of emerging artists (the Chantier and the iNOUïs),” he noted.

Monin also promised that “other announcements will follow in 2024.”

France will soon tax all music-streaming services between 1.5 and 1.75%. Proceeds will go toward the Centre National de la Musique (CNM) to support the French music sector, per Tech Crunch.

“France does not encourage innovation and investment,” Monin said in another interview earlier this month.

Printemps de Bourges is scheduled for April 23-28, 2024, while Francofolies de la Rochelle will take place July 10-14, 2024.