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Spotify Reports Francophone Music Is One of the Top Genres On The Platform

The streaming giant’s annual Loud & Clear data finds French as one of the top-performing languages, with Quebec artists like Charlotte Cardin and Patrick Watson leading the charge.

Charlotte Cardin

Charlotte Cardin

Ellie Blondeau

Francophone music is thriving on Spotify — and Quebec is playing a key role.

Spotify has shared new data that highlights French-language music and content as one of the top-performing genres on the platform. 100 million global users are listening to French content, according to the report, while French music streams are up 192% since 2019.


The data follows the release of Spotify's Loud & Clear Canadian streaming report earlier this month. While Francophone music's reach is global — a staggering 100 million users reside outside of traditionally French-speaking countries, they report — Quebec is a major amplifier. Nearly half of Quebec Spotify users regularly listen to media content in French, Spotify says.

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In May 2025 alone, Quebecers listened to nearly 10 million hours of Francophone music — and the number only continues to go up. The consumption of Francophone content on Spotify has grown almost 20% year over year among local users, boasting a 130% growth since 2019.

The province’s Francophone listeners are getting younger, too. Nearly 40% of Quebec-based Spotify users who engage with Francophone content are under the age of 29, which is seen as a powerful signal that the French language continues to resonate deeply with the next generation of music listeners.

That data is translating into dollars. According to Spotify, French music royalties generated globally are up 15% from 2023. This includes many Quebecois artists, whose musical richness appeals nationwide and internationally. Last year, indie artist Patrick Watson’s “Je te laisserai des mots” was the most popular Francophone track on Spotify — and the first French track to surpass a billion streams. The Montreal native's track was added to over 6.6 million playlists last year, showcasing its global appeal.

Last year, almost the entire top 10 list of the most popular Francophone songs among Quebec’s users on Spotify was performed by Franco-Quebecois acts. Beloved artists like rock band Les Cowboys Fringants, singer-songwriters Patrick Watson and Charlotte Cardin and rapper Enima are mainstays on the Spotify charts in their home province.

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Yet, the streaming platform has been vocal about championing burgeoning talent.

One of Quebec’s breakthrough artists, rapper Fredz, has seen massive growth on Spotify. “I've seen my audience triple in Canada in one year,” the rapper shared, who had already developed a loyal following. From his recent album, Demain il fera beau, tracks like “Le stade” and “Rappeler son…” were added to editorial playlists.

“Streaming has been essential in my journey,” he said. “Thanks to platforms like Spotify, my music has been able to travel almost everywhere.”

Zooming out, Spotify says that nearly 15 million hours of Canadian music are streamed globally every day, and Canadian artists are featured on 2.4 billion user playlists worldwide. Check out the full Loud & Clear report here.

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Rheostatics. Back L to R: Tim Vesely, Don Kerr, Kevin Hearn, Dave Bidini, Alex Lifeson Front L to R: Dave Clark, Hugh Marsh
Chris Wahl

Rheostatics. Back L to R: Tim Vesely, Don Kerr, Kevin Hearn, Dave Bidini, Alex Lifeson Front L to R: Dave Clark, Hugh Marsh

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Alex Lifeson on New Music With Rheostatics: ‘There Are No Rules or Expectations’

The all-star collective's new album, The Great Lakes Suite, also features Laurie Anderson and the late Gord Downie.

Thirty years ago, Toronto’s Rheostatics went high-concept with Music Inspired by the Group of Seven, a National Gallery of Canada commission to pay homage to early 20th century Canadian landscape painters. It was an arty and abstract conceptual piece, incorporating free-form composition and recorded dialogue from the painters and historical figures such as Britain’s Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother.

Ever since then, the band’s Dave Bidini tells Billboard, “We’ve always bandied about, ‘How can we do something like that again?’ So we’ve been searching for a while, and one night I literally had my head on the pillow, and I thought about the Great Lakes.”

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