The recorded music business in Germany fell 3.2% by value in 2012 to 1.44 billion euros, down from 1.67 billion euros in 2011.
New figures from German industry body the BVMI reveal that 112 million albums were sold in Germany in, 2012, with one in six purchased digitally. The CD format claimed 71% of total industry revenues, remaining by far the most popular way to listen to music in Germany.
Income from digital sources hit a new high of 294 million euros, taking a 20.5% share of the overall recorded music market. Downloads were up 24.4% to 250 million euros, while revenue from streaming increased 40%, to 36 million euros. That meant streaming claimed just 5% of total industry revenues, and a 12.1% share of digital income.
A total of 8.4 million people in Germany purchased and downloaded music in 2012. Diamonds by Rihanna (pictured) claimed the longest run at No.1 on the GFK German singles chart, holding on to the top spot for the last nine weeks of the year.
Prof. Dieter Gorny, chairman of the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (the Association of the German Music Industry, BVMI), said: “Unfortunately, the growth in the new digital business segments could not catch up to the losses of the physical record market.
“With a revenue share of nearly 80%, the physical market still is the cornerstone of the German music industry. CD sales alone were [worth] about a billion euros in 2012. Despite a decrease of 7.2%, the CD, with a share of 71 percent of the total revenues, is the unchallenged, number one media for music.”Music Business Worldwide
