German music sales growth slows in first half of 2025 according to the BVMI, Germany’s recorded music industry association. This compares to a growth of 7.6% in H1 2024. Total sales were €1.157 Bn generated from streams, CDs, downloads and vinyl from January to June 2025, an increase of 1.4% compared to the same period last year (H1 2024: €1.141 Bn according to the full-year financial statements for 2024). Demand for physical formats fell significantly by 13.2%. CDs (-20.1%) still contributed 6.3% to total sales, while vinyl achieved a market share of 5.6% after a slight decline of 2.6%.
The physical business – CDs, vinyl, DVDs and singles – still contributes 12.5% to industry sales, while the digital market, which gained 3.9%, accounts for 87.5%. As in previous years, income from audio streaming (+3.8%) is still responsible for the positive overall development; downloads fell by 9.8%.
Dr. Florian Drücke, Chairman & CEO of BVMI said, “As an industry, we are currently in an exciting phase in which there is still potential for growth, even in developed markets such as Germany. In this environment characterised by huge technological leaps, our industry is particularly reliant on European legislators keeping an eye on the legal framework for future digital business areas. This currently includes the consistent continuation of the path taken with the AI Regulation in order to enable the digital licence business.”
