Abstract
ABSTRACT Music, and especially popular music, plays a prominent role in the race for international soft power, and is now recognised as an important factor for the study of international relations. This paper endeavours to present and examine contemporary French music diplomacy, that is the ways in which French institutions abroad use and diffuse music in general, and specifically popular music, to gain international influence, and which is still an unexplored area of research. In this context, it will identify the shift from a focus on elite culture towards an economic, neoliberal approach designed not only to export music ‘made in France’, but also to convey a new image of France on the international stage, a modernised ‘nation brand’ based, among other things, on its ‘trendy’ music. To this end, the paper first introduces the role of music in general and of popular music in particular in diplomatic contexts. Then, it provides a brief survey of the public agencies involved in the promotion of French music abroad and their different actions and strategies. Finally, it discusses the diplomatic, commercial and symbolic issues at stake in these policies and how they interplay with one another, especially in relation to nation branding and French soft power priorities.
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