Deezer
Verified“French-listed and French-run, but US-billionaire controlled.”
- Listing
- Euronext Paris (DEEZR)
- Revenue (FY2024)
- €541.7M
- Subscribers
- ~9.7M total
- Controlling holder
- Access Industries (~37%)
63 = midpoint of Control 65 & Data 61
Sovereignty Quadrant
Control ↑ who owns & governs the company · Data → where your data lives. Every dot is a company — click to open it.
Every number below traces to 14 sourced facts across 10 independent sources, last verified 2026-06-12. 3 open questions hold confidence at 71% — they lower confidence, never the score.
Control ↑
Who legally and economically controls the company
Legal & Jurisdiction
88
Incorporated as a French SA, governed by French law, with a Paris registered office and an Euronext Paris listing — EU law plainly reaches the operating and listed entity.
Why 88? 3 sourced facts · click to expand
Deezer's legal notice states it is a French limited company (SA) governed by French law, registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Register under number 898 969 852 at 24 rue de Calais, 75009 Paris.
Deezer Legal Information · as of 2026-06-12
Deezer SA is listed and trades on Euronext Paris under the ticker DEEZR (ISIN FR001400AYG6), placing it under French/EU market regulation (AMF).
PR Newswire (Deezer Euronext Paris debut) · as of 2022-07-05
Deezer's published privacy information names Deezer SA in France (24 rue de Calais, 75009 Paris) as the data controller for users.
Deezer Personal Data page · as of 2026-06-12
Control & Ownership
42
Deezer is EU-listed but not cleanly EU-controlled: its anchor and controlling shareholder is Access Industries, the New York-based holding of US/UK billionaire Len Blavatnik, which was cleared for exclusive control in 2016.
Why 42? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
The French competition authority cleared Access Industries to take exclusive (sole) control of Deezer following a 2016 investment that lifted Access above 50% ownership at the time.
Music Week · as of 2016-09-08
Access Industries remained Deezer's largest shareholder after listing, reported at roughly 36.8% of capital (with later sources citing figures in the high-30s to ~41%), far ahead of any other holder.
Music Business Worldwide · as of 2023-09-06
Access Industries is a privately held company headquartered in New York (with London and California offices), owned by dual US-UK citizen Len Blavatnik.
Access Industries (official) / Wikipedia · as of 2026-06-12
Deezer's share count (123,973,429) is far below its theoretical voting rights (189,524,024), indicating French double-voting-rights that amplify long-term anchor shareholders.
Webdisclosure (Deezer regulatory filing) · as of 2026-03-27
Data →
Where your data lives and who can reach it
Data & Infrastructure
45
Data controller is in France and the only host named publicly is a French MSP rather than a US hyperscaler, but Deezer never cleanly discloses its full backend cloud stack, so foreign-law exposure cannot be ruled out.
Why 45? 3 sourced facts · click to expand
Deezer's legal notice names its web host as Iguane Solutions, a French managed-services provider at 17 rue de Surène, 75008 Paris.
Deezer Legal Information · as of 2026-06-12
Deezer's privacy policy states data is controlled in France but may be shared with service providers and recipients in other countries, using safeguards such as EU standard contractual clauses.
Deezer Personal Data page · as of 2026-06-12
Deezer does not publish a clear, dedicated data-residency or sub-processor disclosure naming its core cloud provider(s), leaving the actual hosting jurisdiction of user data only partly documented.
Deezer Privacy Policy · as of 2026-06-12
Operations & People
84
HQ in Paris, roughly 500 staff, a French CEO and French board chair, and financial reporting in euros make the operating company strongly EU-centered.
Why 84? 4 sourced facts · click to expand
Deezer is headquartered in Paris, France, at 24 rue de Calais, 75009 Paris.
Deezer Legal Information · as of 2026-06-12
Deezer reports its financial results in euros, including FY2024 revenue of €541.7 million, up about 12.7% year on year.
Deezer Newsroom (FY24 results) · as of 2025-03-18
Deezer's CEO is Alexis Lanternier (appointed September 2024), and the board has been chaired by France-based Iris Knobloch.
Deezer Newsroom (FY24 results) · as of 2025-03-18
Deezer employed roughly 501 people in 2024, the large majority based in France.
Statista (Deezer employees) · as of 2024-12-31
Aligned to the EU Commission’s official Cloud Sovereignty Framework (SEAL, Jun 2026) →
What we don’t know
3 open questions — they lower confidence, never the score
- ?
Which cloud provider(s) actually host Deezer's user data, and in which jurisdictions?
Iguane Solutions is the only named host, but it is an MSP that can resell hyperscaler capacity; if the backend runs on a US hyperscaler, CLOUD Act exposure would lower the infra score.
- ?
What is Access Industries' exact current percentage of capital AND of voting rights after double-voting effects?
Sources range from ~37% to ~41% of capital; double voting rights could push effective voting control materially higher, changing how decisively foreign-controlled Deezer is.
- ?
Does any shareholders' agreement or board structure give non-EU holders veto or reserved-matter rights?
Board representation for Access, Orange and others is documented, but the precise control terms determine whether EU minority holders retain real influence.
EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework lens
The EU Cloud Sovereignty Framework (SEAL) certifies cloud service providers, not music-streaming apps; the rows below are an analogous sovereignty mapping for Deezer, not a SEAL certification.
Strategic
French-listed, EU-run consumer champion, but ultimate control sits with a US/UK-owned holding company rather than EU hands.
Legal & jurisdictional
French SA governed by French law, Euronext Paris listing, AMF oversight, France-based data controller — EU law clearly applies.
Data & AI
Data controller in France with SCC-based transfers disclosed, but no clear data-residency or sub-processor list; AI/recommendation stack jurisdiction undisclosed.
Operational
Paris HQ, French CEO and chair, workforce concentrated in France, euro reporting — operations are firmly EU-centered.
Supply chain
Heavy dependence on non-EU rights holders (US-owned Warner Music among them via Access) and undisclosed infrastructure suppliers.
Technological
Published host is a French MSP (Iguane Solutions), a positive signal, but the full cloud and CDN stack is not transparently EU-owned or EU-only.
Security & compliance
Subject to GDPR and French regulation as a listed issuer, but no public sovereignty/security certification (e.g. SecNumCloud) is claimed for its infrastructure.
Environmental sustainability
No verified data center energy or sustainability disclosure reviewed for this profile.
EU alternatives
French-owned, French-operated hi-fi music streaming and download service; among the cleanest EU-controlled streaming options.
Swedish-founded and EU-incorporated, but US-listed with majority US economic ownership and US-hyperscaler infrastructure — EU-controlled, US-dependent.
Deezer itself is the most French-rooted major option, but is foreign-controlled via Access Industries; strong on jurisdiction, weaker on ownership.
How the method works
Methodology v2 (provisional): the score is the midpoint of two axes — Control (who owns and governs the company) and Data (where your data lives and who can reach it). Each axis is scored only on verified evidence; unknowns reduce confidence, never the score. Every input below is sourced; the weights and judgments are open to challenge.
Spotted an error? Every claim is sourced — challenge it and we correct the record.
- 2026-06-12 — Initial golden profile, authored from primary sources (human + AI review).
Report Incorrect Data
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Verified 2026-06-12 · Human + AI joint review (sources independently checked) · Methodology