Pascal Bittard | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 24, 1968 Toulouse, France |
| Nationality | French |
| Education | Toulouse Business School (ESC Toulouse) |
| Occupation(s) | Music executive, entrepreneur |
| Years active | 1994–present |
| Known for | Founder and President of IDOL |
Pascal Bittard (born October 24, 1968) is a French music industry executive and entrepreneur. He is the founder and president of IDOL, an independent digital music distribution company. [1] Bittard took part in the development of digital music distribution and has been an advocate for user-centric streaming models. [2]
He is also a board member of music industry organizations, including Merlin [3] [4] and the Union of Independent French Phonographic Producers (UPFI). [5]
Pascal Bittard was born in Toulouse, France, on October 24, 1968. He graduated in 1991 from ESC Toulouse (now Toulouse Business School) with a degree in business.
From 1994 to 2000, Bittard worked at Sony Music, where he served as Director of Independent Labels Distribution. [6] [7] He then joined V2 Music France as Marketing and Digital Director from 2000 to 2005, where he developed the digital music market in France. [8] [9] During his tenure, he negotiated the company's first digital distribution agreements with platforms such as iTunes, FnacMusic, VirginMega, and several mobile operators. [10]
In 2006, Bittard founded IDOL (Independent Distribution On Line), leveraging his experience at V2 Music to build a new model for digital music distribution. [6] Under his leadership, IDOL became a major independent digital music distributor. Bittard oversaw IDOL's international expansion, opening offices in London (2014), United States (2016), South Africa (2017), Germany (2020). [11] [12] He was recognized as a thought leader in the industry, particularly for his support of user-centric payment models in music streaming—an alternative to the traditional pro-rata system. [13]
Since 2010, he has served on the board of UPFI, [14] and since 2022, he is a board member of Merlin, the digital music licensing agency for the world's independent music sector. [15] [16] [17] He was re-elected to this role in 2024. [18]
In 2018, Bittard was named a Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the French Ministry of Culture for his contributions to the music industry. [19] [20]
In both 2023 and 2024, he was recognized in Billboard's "100 International Power Players", honoring his influence on the global music business. [21] [22]