According to the German Music Industry Association and market researcher Media Control, the number of legal music downloads in Germany rose from around 94 million in 2011 to almost 115 million in 2012. This corresponds to an increase of 22.4 percent.
The number of single track downloads rose by 22.9% year-on-year to a total of 97 million songs. Album downloads, which generate around 55% of download sales, increased by 20.6% to 16 million. Single bundles, including maxi singles, accounted for an additional 1.5 million downloads in 2012 (up 12.8%).
According to Media Control Managing Director Ulrike Altig, not only pop releases, but also TV compilations, classical music products and music from the children's sector recorded major digital growth.
With over 280 labels and companies from the music industry, the German Music Industry Association claims to represent around 90 percent of the German music market.
