LUCIANO was the second-most streamed artist on Spotify in Germany in 2021
Germany’s annual streaming numbers continue to soar.
According to data published today (January 11) by GfK Entertainment and German Music Industry Association (BVMI), 165 billion streams were generated in the country in 2021 – almost a fifth more than in 2020 (138 billion).
Last year’s tally was also over half more than in 2019, when the country generated 108 billion streams, and twice as many as 2018, when 80 billion streams were reported.
The BVMI revealed in its H1 2021 report in August that Germany generated €903.8 million (approximately $1.094 billion) on a retail basis in the first six months of 2021, from physical music sales and streaming, an increase of 12.4% year-over-year.
The publication of BVMI’s H1 report followed the news in March that the country’s recorded music revenues grew 9% year-on-year to €1.79 billion (approximately $2.02bn) in 2020 on a retail basis, in spite of the pandemic.
In H1 2021, audio streaming’s share of total revenue was 70.6%. The format only overtook CDs in Germany in terms of revenue for the first time in H1 2018.
BVMI reports that the total number of streams generated in Germany since 2013 now adds up to 623 billion.
BVMI/Gfk also report that new daily streaming records were set for Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, with 716 million and 674 million streams generated on those days, respectively.
The most streamed titles within 24 hours on Christmas Eve were Last Christmas by Wham! with 5 million streams, All I Want For Christmas Is You by Mariah Carey, 4.8 million streams, and Driving Home For Christmas by Chris Rea, with 4.5 million streams).
“Music streaming is available practically anytime, anywhere, and music is a daily companion for more and more fans, from smartphones to smart homes and cars.”
Dr. Florian Drücke, BVMI
Dr. Florian Drücke, BVMI CEO, said: “Music streaming is available practically anytime, anywhere, and music is a daily companion for more and more fans, from smartphones to smart homes and cars.
“You can generate your very own soundtrack from an immense repertoire universe and put it together again and again to suit every activity and mood.
“More and more people are being fascinated by these possibilities, so it is as logical as it is gratifying that the number of songs streamed has increased by almost 20 percent in the past year.”
“The past few weeks have impressively demonstrated the major role it plays in daily music consumption.”
Dr. Mathias Giloth, GfK Entertainment
Dr. Mathias Giloth, Managing Director of GfK Entertainment, added: “Streaming is by far the market segment with the highest turnover. The past few weeks have impressively demonstrated the major role it plays in daily music consumption.”
