France Album Sales: Renaud

A La Belle De Mai Era

In November  1994 Renaud was back to original French music with his new album A La Belle De Mai. If Marchand De Cailloux entered behind Jean Ferrat 1991 album, A La Belle De Mai ironically dislodged the new Jean Ferrat album from the top spot. It remained there a couple of weeks before the Beatles Live At The BBC reached #1.

Top 10 during all the Christmas season, the set went Platinum in December less than two months after its release. Selling a calculated 306,000 units in 1994 and 155,000 in 1995, the album although not rated his best reminded Renaud was still a powerhouse of French music industry.

This led his major to sell his catalog again. Nothing less than four distinct packages were released:

• The Meilleur Of Renaud 1975/1985: best of his Polydor years released in June, #2 peak in compilation chart, went Gold in November 1995, estimated 1-year sales 190,000 units
• The Meilleur Of Renaud 1985/1995: best of his Virgin years released in June, #5 peak in compilation chart, went Gold in December 1995, estimated 1-year sales 120,000 units
• The Very Meilleur Of Renaud 1975/1995: package of both other sets released in December, #6 peak in compilation chart, not certified, estimated 1-year sales 70,000 units
• L’Intégrale: massive 18CD career spanning set. Never charted.

At the same time, Polygram fully audited all Master Série albums in December 1995. The one of Renaud, issued in 1983, went 2xGold.

Top 3 Most Streamed Tracks on Spotify

1. C’est Quand Qu’on Va Où? – 82,000
2. La Médaille – 72,000
3. Mon Amoureux – 65,000