Streaming is still in its infancy in Germany, despite revenue from the format jumping up 79% in 2014.
Now a new study presented in Berlin by BVMI and GfK has given us some in-depth stats about what that means in terms of user numbers.
The headline figure is that 2.5m people in Germany currently use premium streaming services, subscribing monthly – either direct or through a mobile telco operator.
Meanwhile, 6.4m people are accessing ad-supported streaming platforms and contributing ‘relevant revenue’ – which is to say, listening to music on these services for more than 1.5 hours a week.
These numbers strictly refer to platforms which require registration, such as Spotify, Deezer and Juke – and discount activity on services without a registration requirement such as YouTube.
According to GfK, total streaming users across freemium and premium currently total around 11.6m people – a figure expected to double by 2018.
“There is much room for improvement. We must primarily convince people of the appeal of premium streaming services.”
Dr. Florian Drucke, BVMI
The body has conducted consumer research that shows that the biggest streaming users in Germany are currently males in their 30s.
Interestingly, the majority of non-users of streaming services (65%) said they were put off by the idea of continuous payments in the form of a subscription model.
More than 12.8 million current streaming abstainers said they could imagine using a streaming service over the next six months.
“The newest form of music [consumption] is developing dynamically, next to a stable physical market and a very diverse radio landscape,” said BVMI CEO Dr. Florian Drucke (pictured).
“Nevertheless, there is much room for improvement. We must primarily convince people of the [appeal] of premium services, because it is here that the music industry will generate the most revenue in future.”
For the study, carried out by GfK on behalf of BVMI in September 2014, a total of 2,000 people aged 14 and above responded to an online survey.
Income from Germany’s recorded music market was up 1.8% in 2014, bucking industry trends thanks to a growing streaming market combined with a robust CD sales market.Music Business Worldwide
