François Besson began his career at Diapason as an editorial secretary before joining Universal Music, at the creation of Universal Classics and then CBS Disques. After five years at France Inter, where he was head of the Promotions and Partnerships department, then director of music programming, he joined Sony Music in 1993 as director of the Classical and Jazz department.
Realizing that the marketing practiced within record companies was far from utilizing the full potential of operational marketing, he joined The Walt Disney Company in 1996, then worked in marketing agencies from 2001, in France and the UK, for clients such as McDonalds and Kellogg's, with the idea of creating a marketing agency specializing in classical music, which he did in 2009.
He works for clients such as Warner Music, Mezzo, Orchestre de Lille, Théâtre du Châtelet, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra's Digital Concert Hall, performers and patrons, before joining Sacem in 2013 as Director of Cultural Action.
Launched in 1966, the cultural activities of the Société des Auteurs, Compositeurs et Editeurs de Musique (Society of Authors, Composers and Music Publishers) are designed to support creation, help renew repertoires and accompany new talent. Every year, over 3,000 projects are supported, in all repertoires: song, rock, visual music, electro, urban music, world music, contemporary music, improvised music and poetry. Last year, 3,375 projects were supported for a total of €17.2 million.