Alain Veille, President of Warner Music France, has been elected President of SNEP, the body that represents France’s recorded music industry.
He succeeds Bertrand Burgalat, who had held the position since 2020.
SNEP said its Board of Directors elected Veille, and that the organization now represents more than 250 members, from major companies to independent labels.
The organization set out priorities for the new mandate under Veille.
The first is the defense of intellectual property and human creativity as artificial intelligence develops, which SNEP said should include putting into effect the bill tabled by Senator Laure Darcos on the use of works by AI systems.
The others are strengthening the paid subscription streaming model in France, stopping the manipulation of streams and charts, and defending the diversity of French music production and its reach both at home and internationally.
“IN THE YEARS AHEAD, OUR RESPONSIBILITY WILL BE TO ENSURE THAT THE VOICE OF THE RECORDING INDUSTRY IS HEARD IN THE MAJOR DECISIONS AFFECTING OUR PROFESSION.”
ALAIN VEILLE
“Music remains an industry in which innovation, risk-taking and investment are closely intertwined,” said Veille. “In the years ahead, our responsibility will be to ensure that the voice of the recording industry is heard in the major decisions affecting our profession, while continuing to defend what makes music so rich: the diversity of artists, repertoires and business models.
“I am also fully aware of the responsibility entrusted to me and intend to build on the work of Bertrand Burgalat, whose decisive contribution to the development of Snep I would like to acknowledge. We will continue to advance these issues with the same level of commitment in our engagement with both French and European public authorities.”
The Darcos bill would write a presumption into the French Intellectual Property Code that AI providers have used copyrighted works, leaving those companies to prove that they have not.
Days later, 227 authors’ societies called on the lower house to pass it, but its examination in the chamber on June 11 was blocked by the filing of 110 amendments, most of them from Ensemble pour la République, the group chaired by Gabriel Attal. The text has yet to return to the chamber.
“After 14 years on the Board, two terms as Vice-President and three consecutive terms as President, I do not intend to seek a new position,” said Burgalat. “It has been a great joy to work alongside this remarkable team, Executive Committee and Board, and I would like to express to them, and to all our members, my affection and gratitude for their unwavering trust and support.
“When I joined Snep in 2009, I took the view that the concerns and interests of the smallest independent structures and those of major companies could converge, and that we had more in common than we had reasons to disagree. That has proved to be the case. Record membership at Snep, whose membership has increased sixfold in ten years and whose representativeness now stands at 93% of the French recorded music industry, together with the constructive relationships we have built with representatives of other music professions and with the CNM, bear this out.
“Everything we have undertaken or defended has been in the interests of the most vulnerable structures and of the sector as a whole, whether producers, artists, musicians or creators. I am certain that Alain Veille will be equally committed to defending the common good, and I will always stand alongside Snep, an organization to which I remain deeply attached.”
Alexandre Lasch, Managing Director of SNEP, said: “I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Bertrand Burgalat for his commitment throughout his six years as President. Under his leadership, Snep broadened its representation and now brings together more than 250 companies, from majors to independent labels.
“He has made a significant contribution to strengthening Snep’s role in the major debates shaping our industry. Alain Veille’s appointment opens a new chapter in this continuity, with the same determination to bring together a broad range of industry stakeholders and collectively represent the issues facing recorded music.”
“I would like to extend my warmest thanks to Bertrand Burgalat for his commitment throughout his six years as President. Under his leadership, Snep broadened its representation and now brings together more than 250 companies, from majors to independent labels.”
Alexandre Lasch, SNEP
The new mandate will be supported by a Board of Directors including Yacine Bouzidi, Founder and Managing Director of Antipodes Music, who has been elected Vice-President of SNEP.
Also on the board are Isabel Dacheux, CEO of Scherzo Production; Matéo, President of Only Pro; Olivier Nusse, President of Universal Music France; and Marie-Anne Robert, President of Sony Music Entertainment France.
SNEP said the newly elected board had also invited four members to take part in its work: Laurent Didailler, Managing Director of PIAS France; Julie Estardy, President of Studio CBE; Benjamin Galouye, Co-Founder and CEO of B1 France; and Marion Gargula, Co-Managing Director of BMG France.
Veille has worked in the music industry for more than 30 years, starting at Sony Music France in 1993 before moving to Universal Music France in 1997 and joining Warner Music Group in 2001 as Managing Director of WEA France.
On chart manipulation and AI, SNEP has been applying criteria since May that determine when a recording developed with generative AI can qualify for France‘s official charts, and said this week that they are now fully operational.
A qualifying recording must be the result of substantial human involvement, the use of generative AI must be disclosed clearly and transparently, and the AI service used must be authorized and compliant with French law. It must also raise no suspicion of stream or chart manipulation. The criteria were developed with IFPI, of which SNEP is a member, and began rolling out across IFPI’s own network of official charts in July.
France is the world’s sixth-largest recorded music market, generating revenues of EUR €1.071 billion (USD $1.21 billion) in 2025, up 3.9% YoY, according to SNEP, in a tenth consecutive year of growth.
