Photo Credit: Florian Wehde
The German recorded music industry has grown 7.6% in the first half of 2024, though demand for physical media has fallen significantly.
The German Music Industry Association (BVMI) announced €1.136 billion ($1.05B) was generated from streams, CDs, downloads, and vinyl from January to June 2024. That marks an increase of 7.6% compared to the same period last year [€1.056B ($971.5B) H1 2023]. Though the industry is growing, it is propelled by streaming rather than physical media.
Demand for physical media fell significantly in the first half of 2024, dropping 11.9% with CDs down -22.5% and contributing 8.1% towards sales. Vinyl grew at a reserved rate of 5.4% and contributed to a market share of 5.9% in the half. The physical side of the recorded music business now accounts for 14.7% of industry sales, while the digital market (+11.9%) accounts for 85.3%. The BVMI says streaming is the driving force to this growth (+12.7%) while downloads fell (-16%).
Photo Credit: BVMI
“2024 is off to a good start, with the industry generating a total of €1.136 billion ($1.05B) in the first six months—7.6% more than in the same period last year,” adds Dr. Florian Drücke, Chairman & CEO of BVMI. “The appeal of streaming services for music fans still continues to grow. Vinyl’s sustained upward trend shows that the physical and digital worlds remain complementary and interact with each other. Fans listen to and use music in all ways, which, accordingly, the labels, as partners of the artists, have an integrated view of, offer and expand in order to constantly expand the digital value creation opportunities in the common interest.”
“Especially in the context of generative AI, however, it is particularly important that we reach a fundamental, binding agreement that the existing content conceived, produced, and financed by humans must not simply be sucked in and used by machines,” Dr. Drücke continues.
“Our industry is very clear here—the goal is partnership. However, if the use takes place without the consent of rights holders and above all, without them participating in the value creation, we will not accept this. As we know, initial proceedings for clarification have been conducted in the USA.”
