SNEP facts for kids

SNEP (which stands for French: Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique, or National Syndicate of Phonographic Publishing in English) is a group that helps the French music business. It works to protect the interests of record companies in France.

SNEP started in 1922 and was first called SNICOP. Today, it has 48 member companies. SNEP has several important jobs. It makes sure that artists and music companies get paid when their music is played on the radio or used in public. It also works to stop people from illegally copying music. Plus, SNEP gives out special awards like silver, gold, platinum, and diamond records for songs and videos that sell a lot. SNEP also creates weekly lists of the most popular songs and albums in France.

Official Music Charts

How the Charts Started

The idea for a French music chart began when an American music magazine called Billboard asked for one. In 1961, a reporter put together a list of the top 10 most popular EPs (Extended Play records) in France. An EP by Edith Piaf with the song "Non, je ne regrette rien" was number one.

Billboard continued to publish French charts until 1964. The charts started again in 1967. In late 1968, SNICOP (SNEP's old name) got involved. At that time, EPs were still very popular. However, the British band Procol Harum had the first number one single in France with their song "A Whiter Shade of Pale".

SNICOP released its first official singles chart, called "Hit Parade Officiel," in October 1968. By 1973, SNICOP was also publishing a national albums chart. But these charts stopped in 1977 because of disagreements in the French music industry. This meant France didn't have an official sales chart for a while.

Modern Charts Begin

The modern SNEP charts began on November 4, 1984. This was when a TV show called Top 50 started on the new Canal+ TV channel. In the late 1980s, a company called Top No. 1 created the charts for SNEP. But SNEP stopped working with them in 1992 because they weren't happy with how the charts were made. They fixed the problem, and Top No. 1 continued making the charts.

In 1993, the TV channels stopped producing the charts for SNEP. The singles chart wasn't published again by SNEP until mid-November 1993. The albums chart didn't return until June 1994.

In December 2020, a company from London called Official Charts Company (OCC) took over making the French music charts for SNEP. They started on January 1, 2021.

How Charts Are Made Today

Since September 2002, the official charts have included:

• The top 100 best-selling singles.
• The top 150 best-selling new albums (sold at full price).
• The top 40 best new music collections (sold at full price).
• The top 40 best-selling albums and collections (longer format) sold at a lower price.

Here are some rules for the charts:

• A "new" album means it was released less than 2 years ago.
• A "full price" album costs €10 or more.
• Albums older than 2 years or costing less than €10 are not in the "new" album charts.
• Albums sold at "mid-price" or "budget price" (discounted prices) are in a separate chart.

Music Awards: Certifications

SNEP gives out special awards to music that sells a lot. These are called certifications.

Album Awards

The Gold album award started in January 1973. Platinum was added in May 1980, and Diamond in November 1988. Silver awards were given out starting in 1999. The double Gold award stopped in 2006, and Silver awards stopped in 2009. Multiple Diamond awards began in 2014.

Before 2016, music labels had to ask for these awards based on sales reports. Since 2016, awards are given automatically. They count physical sales (like CDs), digital downloads, and streams (listening online). How streams are counted has changed over time. For example, in 2019, they added up all streams and divided by 1,500 to count them as "sales."

Here's how many copies an album needed to sell to get an award over the years:

Single Awards

The Gold single award started in January 1973. Platinum followed in May 1980, Silver in July 1985, and Diamond in January 1997. Silver awards for singles stopped in July 2009.

Like albums, single awards were based on sales requests before 2016. Now, they are automatic and include physical sales, downloads, and streams. In 2018, only streams from paid subscriptions were counted. One download or physical sale is counted as 150 streams.

Here's how many copies a single needed to sell to get an award over the years:

Since April 2018, single awards are based on streams. Here are the levels:

Video Awards

Awards for music videos started in September 2009, with Gold, Platinum, double Platinum, and triple Platinum. Diamond video awards began in August 1991.

Here are the sales levels for video awards over the years:

Chart Achievements (1984–2019)

Artists with the Most Number-One Hits

¹ All the singles recorded under one of his pseudonyms or as member of his bands are included

Artists with the Most Weeks at Number One

¹ Songs performed as duets and trios are included
² Songs performed within Brastisla Boys and Fatal Bazooka bands and as Alphonse Brown included

Artists with the Most Top 10 Hits

Artists with the Most Top 50 Entries

Songs with the Most Weeks at Number One

Songs with the Biggest Jump to Number One

Songs with the Most Weeks in the Top 10

Sales and Streaming Charts: Recent Achievements (2017–Present)

Songs with the Most Weeks at Number One

Artists with the Most Number-One Hits

Artists with the Most Top 10 Hits

See also

In Spanish: Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique para niños

• Institut français d'opinion publique (IFOP)
• List of number one hits in France
• List of artists who reached number one on the French Singles Chart
• List of best-selling albums in France
• Global music industry market share data