{"id":214728,"date":"2025-12-15T15:15:15","date_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:15:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/12\/15\/label-look-how-because-music-home-to-daft-punk-justice-became-the-record-company-of-tomorrow\/"},"modified":"2025-12-15T15:15:15","modified_gmt":"2025-12-15T20:15:15","slug":"label-look-how-because-music-home-to-daft-punk-justice-became-the-record-company-of-tomorrow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2025\/12\/15\/label-look-how-because-music-home-to-daft-punk-justice-became-the-record-company-of-tomorrow\/","title":{"rendered":"Label Look:\u00a0How\u00a0Because Music, Home to Daft Punk & Justice,\u00a0Became the \u2018Record Company of\u00a0Tomorrow\u2019\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tEmmanuel de Buretel <\/strong>is still buzzing from the weekend when he speaks to\u00a0Billboard<\/em>\u00a0over Zoom on a Tuesday evening in Paris.<\/p>\n

\n\tSeventy-two\u00a0hours\u00a0earlier,\u00a0de\u00a0Buretel was in the crowd watching Daft Punk\u2019<\/a>s Thomas Bangalter perform his first DJ set in 16 years, in what instantly became a headline-generating, dance-music-history-making moment.\u00a0Performed alongside fellow electronic luminaries Busy P<\/a>, Erol Alkan<\/a> and Fred\u00a0again..<\/a>, the set also functioned as an exclamation point on Because Beaubourg, an exhibition that took over Paris\u2019 Centre Pompidou\u00a0museum\u00a0complex and welcomed 40,000\u00a0visitors\u00a0over three days.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Thomas<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tDaft Punk\u2019s Thomas Bangalter Surprises Fans With DJ Set Alongside Fred again.. in\u00a0Paris\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tHot 97’s ‘Ebro in the Morning’ Show Is ‘Over’ After 13 Years\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tUniversal\u00a0Music\u00a0Group\u00a0Opens UMusic Shops In New York, London\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tThe occasion was the 20th\u00a0anniversary of Because Music, the indie label de Buretel co-founded with Eric Bielsa<\/strong>\u00a0in 2005. The exhibition featured immersive installations,\u00a0talks,\u00a0performances\u00a0and even a\u00a0roller disco, all inspired by\u00a0Because\u2019s\u00a0two decades of artists,\u00a0music\u00a0and culture.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe don\u2019t like the auto-congratulation of anniversaries,\u201d de Buretel says. \u201cBut the speech to my people this morning was that we\u2019ve had big challenges in proving record companies have to change very quickly in the way they do their job, and this event was a total symbol of what an independent record company should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDe Buretel\u00a0cites\u00a0receiving\u00a0congratulatory emails\u00a0from\u00a0Because believers like\u00a0Coachella co-founder Paul Tollett<\/strong> and\u00a0Diplo<\/a>, whose group Major Lazer<\/a>\u00a0is\u00a0signed to\u00a0Because\u00a0in select territories.\u00a0The roster also includes indie pop\u00a0outfit\u00a0Parcels<\/a>,\u00a0underground electronic acts including\u00a0Oklou, Snow Strippers, Shygirl and Bambii, veteran electronic acts like Justice and Cerrone, indie titan Christine and the Queens and the output of revered French label Ed Banger, which includes the work of artists like Justice, Myd, SebastiAn and more.\u00a0Because\u00a0also acts as business\u00a0manager\u00a0for the legacy of Daft Punk<\/a>, a duo de Buretel originally signed to Virgin in the\u00a01990s.\u00a0The\u00a0Because Group now encompasses\u00a0Because Music and the publishing arm Because Editions, along with\u00a0several\u00a0venues, a\u00a0festival\u00a0and multiple\u00a0booking agencies.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThese structures create homes and opportunities for music that de Buretel says\u00a0is coming\u00a0from an\u00a0ever-wider\u00a0cross-section of the world.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cMost of the new generation is\u00a0multinational and multicultural, and the music moves at a faster pace. The subjects explored are quite advanced \u2014 genres, cultures, religions, the environment. It\u2019s an especially exciting and interesting moment, particularly as Because aims to position itself as a truly multinational\u00a0and multi-cultural\u00a0record label.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDe Buretel and Bielsa founded Because after they both\u00a0departed\u00a0major labels in the early\u00a02000s.\u00a0De Buretel\u00a0had\u00a0been\u00a0in leadership positions at Virgin\u00a0Records\u00a0and EMI,\u00a0signing\u00a0acts like Daft Punk and Air<\/a>, with Bielsa\u00a0also\u00a0coming from EMI.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe label\u2019s multinational, multicultural\u00a0aim was present from the very beginning, with Because\u2019s\u00a0first release\u00a0being\u00a0Dimanche \u00e0 Bamako<\/em>, the\u00a0Grammy-nominated\u00a02005 collaborative album from Malian couple Amadou & Mariam\u00a0and\u00a0French\/Spanish legend\u00a0Manu Chao<\/a>. Over the last two decades, the label has signed\u00a0roughly 70\u00a0other acts.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cAt the beginning of\u00a0Because\u00a0we had to break an artist every year,\u201d says de Buretel.\u00a0\u201cIf we\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0break one album a year,\u00a0we could\u2019ve been\u00a0bankrupt, because you\u00a0had\u00a0to\u00a0make a living with one album\u00a0when you didn\u2019t\u00a0have\u00a0a\u00a0back catalog.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFocusing on one artist at a time was a\u00a0dramatically\u00a0different\u00a0business model\u00a0than at the majors and the distributors, which de Buretel says \u201chave too many acts to develop. They have only three or four months to work on each project, so they need to be fast when it comes to distribution and success.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead, the guiding philosophy at Because\u00a0is\u00a0giving artists\u00a0years\u00a0to develop.\u00a0Curating a trim but mighty roster and focusing on\u00a0long-term artist development\u00a0have\u00a0been key to\u00a0Because\u2019s\u00a0track record, with the label taking seven to\u00a010\u00a0years to cultivate its biggest acts, like Justice.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe\u2019ve been patient, and we grow little by little, and they have all succeeded,\u201d de Buretel says.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tKeeping a tight roster requires betting on often relatively unknown acts who may not yet be streaming juggernauts or have giant social media followings. For\u00a0de\u00a0Buretel,\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0okay.\u00a0\u201cWe are very mathematical and data-oriented, but not to sign artists,\u201d\u00a0he says. \u201cIt\u2019s always good when the artist you want to sign has good numbers, but the numbers don\u2019t make the artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tInstead,\u00a0he focuses on\u00a0raw\u00a0talent and authenticity, finding that\u00a0many of the most\u00a0exciting new acts\u00a0come from\u00a0underground\u00a0scenes. \u201cIt\u2019s important to understand that very often, the art of tomorrow comes from the street rather than from galleries,\u201d he says.\u00a0\u201cBasquiat was from the street, Keith Haring was from the street. Punk and rap came from the street, not from schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tNewer\u00a0Because artists\u00a0who\u2019ve\u00a0emerged\u00a0from such\u00a0scenes\u00a0include the\u00a0underground electronic acts Snow Strippers\u00a0and\u00a0Oklou, along with Belgian rapper Shay, with part of the label\u2019s strategy being to invest serious money in new names.\u00a0\u201cWhen we put a\u00a0big advance\u00a0on Snow Strippers, it\u2019s a big risk if you don\u2019t know your business,\u201d says de Buretel. \u201cMe, I\u2019m sure they\u2019re going to be big.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Emmanuel<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tEmmanuel de Buretel<\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tManuel Brule\u0301<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\tSigning\u00a0relatively\u00a0few\u00a0artists annually\u00a0requires\u00a0stringent\u00a0quality control, which de Buretel and his team assure by only\u00a0bringing on\u00a0acts whose live shows are as culture-shaking as their recorded work. \u201cAt the beginning, everybody was laughing at us, saying, \u2018You still focus on live when TikTok is the future?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cBut one of my key decision-making processes when I sign an artist is to check how strong they are live.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tActs who pass muster receive the full attention of de Buretel and his\u00a0roughly\u00a0140-person\u00a0team, based in offices in Paris, London and Los Angeles and working across digital marketing, production, touring, publishing and live. Because\u00a0operates\u00a0two Paris venues, the 250-capacity La Boule Noire and the\u00a01,500-capacity La\u00a0Cigale,\u00a0and\u00a0also\u00a0co-founded the\u00a0city\u2019s\u00a0longstanding\u00a0We\u00a0Love Green festival, which this year\u00a0entered\u00a0a strategic partnership<\/a> with AEG and French media company Combat5, with an eye on international expansion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tSimultaneously, de Buretel says Because focuses on \u201cbeing the best toolbox for our big artists like Daft Punk, who we do everything for, from records to publishing to IP.\u201d\u00a0This work\u00a0with Daft Punk\u00a0recently included co-creating\u00a0The Daft Punk Experience\u00a0<\/em>for online video game\u00a0Fortnite,<\/em>\u00a0in what was the biggest activation<\/a> in the history of Epic\u00a0Games\u2019\u00a0flagship IP.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cArtists need people like us,\u201d says de Buretel. \u201cThey need catalyzers; they need filters; they need workers, and the clients we serve are very happy of the job we do.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDe Buretel says\u00a0Because\u2019s\u00a0annual gross profit margin is 24%, a number\u00a0that\u2019s\u00a0buoyed\u00a0by the\u00a0label\u2019s international\u00a0focus.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWhen we signed Christine and the Queens and told Christine to mix English and French, and that we intended to sell the music outside of France, Christine was very surprised and excited,\u201d de Buretel recalls of the\u00a0French\u00a0artist\u2019s\u00a02015 eponymous\u00a0debut album.\u00a0De Buretel reports that the project ultimately sold 1.5 million\u00a0equivalent\u00a0album units worldwide,\u00a0with\u00a050% of sales happening outside\u00a0of\u00a0France.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Christine<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>

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\t\t\t\t\tChristine and the Queens performing during the concert \u201920 years of love\u2019 at MADO 2025, on July 6, 2025, in Madrid, Spain. <\/span><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tA. Perez Meca\/Europa Press\/Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s the same thing today,\u201d\u00a0de Buretel\u00a0continues. \u201cFor Justice or Shygirl, the number one territory is the U.S., and sometimes number two is Mexico. We decided from the beginning to be worldwide and to market artists internationally, which isn\u2019t exactly what\u2019s happening at major labels or distributors. They have so many artists that they don\u2019t have the time, money, or people to market them worldwide. They have to prioritize.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tThis boutique approach is paying off not just in\u00a0revenue and global\u00a0success, but in accolades. In 2025, Because added a Grammy and an Academy Award to its achievements via wins by Justice and French singer Camille, with the former winning<\/a> best dance\/electronic recording for their 2024 Tame Impala collab \u201cNeverender\u201d and the latter for best original song for\u00a0Emilia Perez<\/em>\u2019s \u201cEl Mal.\u201d\u00a0Justice also clocked the first No. 1 in its nearly 20-year history when \u201cNeverender\u201d\u00a0reached the peak<\/a> of\u00a0Alternative Airplay in February.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tBecause\u2019s\u00a0London office recently\u00a0moved into a new building in the city\u2019s hip Shoreditch neighborhood, and in 2026, the Paris office will also\u00a0relocate\u00a0to Montmartre\u00a0in the 18th\u00a0arrondissement, a transition precipitated by\u00a0a critical mass of\u00a0Because employees moving to that\u00a0area.\u00a0\u201cWe always follow our employees\u2019 wishes and move with the new generation,\u201d says de Buretel. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a very nice move for us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe\u2019s\u00a0also\u00a0continuing to\u00a0invest in\u00a0Because\u2019s\u00a0longstanding relationships with entities\u00a0like\u00a0Merlin, other indie\u00a0labels\u00a0and the majors, feeling that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0all in it together in terms of \u201cthe structures in front of us, huge icebergs called Google, Amazon, Apple.\u201d <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cRight now, what I see with Google is that they\u2019re very nice, very proactive and they have a fantastic music team,\u201d he continues. \u201cBut when it comes to deals, we still don\u2019t accept that there is a difference in value in the way they pay an artist from an independent company and an artist from a major. It\u2019s totally unacceptable that they don\u2019t receive the same amount also regarding short formats; artists should be paid [the same] as they are for videos, which is not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBut despite challenges that can appear existential, de Buretel is\u00a0confidently\u00a0leading the label forward, implementing new strategies and celebrating the past while looking to the future.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cThe company has changed significantly over the last seven years,\u201d he says. \u201cWe now operate worldwide with a direct-to-platform model, without intermediaries, supported by our\u00a0own in-house audience marketing, digital marketing and promotional teams. We are an international development company for new artists and catalogues, as we are the antithesis of a traditional distributor. We believe we have built the needed record company of tomorrow for international developing artists and catalogues.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tEditors note: A version of this article in the Dec. 13 print issue incorrectly stated that Because Music signed electronic duo Fcukers, who are in fact signed to Ninja Tune.<\/em> Billboard regrets the error. <\/em><\/p>\n


\n \"Billboard
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Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emmanuel de Buretel is still buzzing from the weekend when he speaks to\u00a0Billboard\u00a0over Zoom on a Tuesday evening in Paris. Seventy-two\u00a0hours\u00a0earlier,\u00a0de\u00a0Buretel was in the crowd watching Daft Punk\u2019s Thomas Bangalter perform his first DJ set in 16 years, in what instantly became a headline-generating, dance-music-history-making moment.\u00a0Performed alongside fellow electronic luminaries Busy P, Erol Alkan and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-214728","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214728","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214728"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214728\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214728"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214728"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214728"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}