In a crowded streaming landscape where Spotify and Apple Music dominate the headlines, Deezer might not be the loudest voice in the room but it’s certainly one of the most interesting. Since taking over as CEO in July 2024, Alexis Lanternier has set out to reposition Deezer not just as a challenger brand, but as a platform that’s asking the bigger, more uncomfortable questions about where music streaming goes next.
Lanternier’s vision boils down to a deceptively simple mandate: more customisation, more control, and more connections. What that means, in practice, is pushing the music industry to rethink everything from AI music to superfan monetisation, and even the very mechanics of royalty distribution.
Let’s break it down.
AI Music: Useful Tool or Unchecked Threat?
Deezer has been one of the most transparent DSPs about the rise of AI-generated content. According to Lanternier, 18% of the platform’s daily uploads are now fully AI-generated about 20,000 tracks per day.
“It’s been transformative,” he says. “It’s enabled artists to be more creative… but tools that generate music from just a prompt? That’s what we’re struggling with.”
Lanternier draws a clear line between additive AI, which enhances creativity, and destructive AI, which mimics without licensing. His proposed solution echoes the logic behind sampling laws: if AI is trained on copyrighted material, there should be royalties going back to the source.
It’s a timely stance, as artists and rights holders increasingly demand accountability from AI developers. “Whatever revenue is generated by those solutions,” Lanternier says, “should pay a part of that revenue [back] to the content they are using to create the solution.”
Streaming Fraud: Quiet Crisis, Loud Fixes
While Apple Music boasts that it’s reduced streaming fraud to under 1%, Lanternier admits Deezer sees fraud levels of 7–8%. The company’s response? A shift from a pro-rata royalty model to a more user-centric one one of the first DSPs to do so.
“By moving to artist-centric, we cap the impact that one subscription can have,” he explains. “And as a result, the streaming farm business disappears.”
In contrast to Spotify’s controversial move to demonetise tracks with fewer than 1,000 streams, Deezer opted not to punish smaller artists. “We think it’s a little bit harsh… those fraudsters manage to get above 1,000 streams anyway.”
Instead, Deezer strips AI-created tracks from its editorial playlists and algorithms, focusing on detection and demotion rather than exclusion.
Home Field Advantage: Why Local Artists Win on Deezer
The fear that streaming would obliterate local music culture hasn’t materialised at least not on Deezer. In France, 41% of all streams are of French artists, and 18 of the top 20 streamed albums in 2023 were by domestic acts.
“The streaming industry has favoured local artists,” Lanternier says, noting similar trends in Brazil, Deezer’s second-largest market.
This kind of data has helped quash earlier calls for mandatory local content quotas on streaming, like those that still apply to French radio. “Generally speaking, [streaming] was a good force for local artists,” he says.
Surfacefans vs Superfans: Rethinking Fan Engagement
With Goldman Sachs projecting a $4.3 billion global superfan economy in 2026, platforms are eyeing new monetisation tiers. Deezer is actively in talks with major labels about what a superfan product could look like—but Lanternier is cautious.
“You need a solution that’s either all DSPs at once, which is complex, or outside DSPs altogether.”
He also questions whether superfans are tied to superstar artists. In his view, some of the most engaged fans are following smaller acts, while big names often draw “surfacefans” listeners who stream a track but don’t care much about the artist.
“The best example is EDM. People love the track, but the artist behind it? Not something they care so much about.”
Customisation as the New Differentiator
For Lanternier, the next frontier isn’t more content. It’s smarter content.
“Younger generations don’t want the archaic limitations of what their parents used to have,” he says. “They want more customisation, more control, more connections.”
That means deeper recommendation engines, dynamic user interfaces, and potentially even social features or direct artist-fan engagement tools. Innovation, he argues, is what will allow Deezer and others to raise prices without alienating users.
“It’s very important that you keep adding features that make people more engaged and more in love with their streaming app.”
Why Music Streaming Isn’t Netflix
Lanternier is adamant that the music industry shouldn’t blindly follow the pricing strategies of video streamers.
“Netflix didn’t reduce their price with ads; they actually increased the main subscription. Now their subscription with ads is more expensive than their subscription without ads five years ago.”
Music doesn’t have the luxury of exclusives, he notes. If Deezer raises prices without adding value, users can easily switch to a competitor offering the same catalog. In video, the threat of losing access to exclusive content keeps users loyal. Music doesn’t work that way.
“Having a solution with ads that is cheaper [than the main subscription] will be more like reducing the overall royalty pool,” Lanternier says. “Which is not a great thing for the industry.”
Final Note: Deezer’s Long Game
Lanternier’s strategy isn’t flashy, but it is quietly ambitious. In a market where scale tends to overshadow nuance, Deezer is leaning into depth of catalog, of listener insight, of artist engagement.
The platform’s next chapter hinges on listening better: to fans, to artists, to the next generation. And if that sounds obvious, it’s worth remembering that obvious ideas often get buried beneath the noise.
Deezer’s not trying to be Spotify or Apple. It’s trying to be Deezer only smarter.
