For international musicians hoping to be discovered, France is the place to be. The country’s open-minded music infrastructure–the concentration of labels, recording studios, radio stations and TV–offers unique breakout potential. “That network gave me the ability to grow,” says singer Angelique Kidjo, who escaped to Paris from Benin in 1983 and is now promoting her new album “Oyaya!” in the United States.
For years, France produced little music of its own, so audiences starting lapping up the rich, diverse styles of artists from former colonies. Paris became the stage from which stars like Manu Chao and Radio Tarifa won global fame, creating innovative fusions from the mix of sounds clustering there.
French government policies keep the surge of U.S. and British music below flood level, and give both local and obscure acts a head start. Radio quotas require 40 percent of playlists to contain French-language tracks, for example. And a new law calls for new acts to make up a proportion of music played. Gradually, French bands, like funky electro-pop group Air, are making their mark internationally, too. “France gave me the chance to reach for the world with my music,” says Kidjo. And the world is picking up the beat.
