Streaming made its mark on Germany’s music biz in 2015

The German Federal Music Industry Association, or BVMI, has released its 2015 music data for the nation. The year saw a 3.9% increase in value with sales rising to €1.5 billion. Streaming services were a big portion of that growth. The format gained 96.6% last year and surpassed previous forecasts to reach a new peak. The combined streaming and digital download fields accounted for 30.9% of last year’s overall market. That’s a marked change from Germany’s 2014 results, which showed minor growth for streaming while CD sales actually rose.

On the other side of the coin, physical sales fell 4.2% over the year. Physical formats still secured a 69.1% share of the total German music market. Despite its tiny share of 3.3%, vinyl was the only physical type to post an increase, rising 32.2%. Also, even though overall digital performance was strong, digital download sales dropped 2.6%.

“Streaming services are now reaching a broader public,” BVMI Managing Director Dr. Florian Drücke said. “At the same time, 2015 confirms that Germans are across-the-board users; that is, they take advantage of all possible usages: In addition to streaming, vinyl continues to grow significantly.”