German music market grew in 2015
According to initial projections, the music market in Germany closed 2015 with an increase of 3.9 percent. According to the German Music Industry Association (BVMI), revenue from music sales exceeded 1.5 billion euros for the first time since 2009.
With an increase of 96.6%, the growth momentum in streaming has reached a new peak, significantly exceeding previous forecasts; a development that more than compensates for the declines in the physical market (-4.2%) and in download sales (-2.6%).
Audio streaming now generates 13.8 percent of total sales, with downloads accounting for 15.7 percent. Vinyl is the only physical sound carrier to grow again, albeit in a niche market: With growth of 32.2 percent, vinyl now accounts for 3.3 percent of sales. The bottom line is that digital (streaming and downloads) accounted for 30.9% of the overall market in 2015, while physical music sales (CD, vinyl, DVD/Bluray) accounted for 69.1%.
The national repertoire is also continuing its upward trend. Eight of the top 10 albums in the Official German Annual Charts in 2015 were in German, which has never been seen before. In addition to pop and rock, which continue to be very successful, other genres such as metal and hip-hop albums and electronic dance music singles are also achieving consistently high chart success.
The BVMI will publish the final market data with detailed evaluations of the submarkets in March.
