“GfK Entertainment” published a special analysis of German streaming data on January 18th. Current German hits were listened to most in 2023, with artists such as Ayliva, Luciano and Nina Chuba being particularly highlighted. Music streaming also maintained its steady growth path last year. Christmas Eve last year was the day with the most streams ever.
Streaming behavior in numbers
The evaluation in collaboration between “GfK” and the “Federal Association of the Music Industry” (“BVMI”) shows that almost 213 billion music streams were generated across Germany in 2023. In contrast to the previous year (191 billion), this is twelve percent more. In the past five years the number has even doubled. “If you add up all the data since the start of recording in 2013, the streams now add up to over a trillion,” explains “GfK”.
Of the almost 213 billion streams, 52 percent contributed current productions from the 2020s. “Nine of the ten most streamed artists with titles from this decade were German-speaking,” says the press release. National acts such as Ayliva, Luciano and Nina Chuba were heard the most. The percentages for the other decades were as follows: Songs from the 2010s made up 30 percent of the streams, tracks from the 2000s eight percent. The decades before the turn of the millennium totaled ten percent.
“The playlists were particularly hot at Christmas”
Dr. explains what could be the reason for the steady increase in music streaming. Mathias Giloth, Managing Director of “GfK” as follows: “Music streaming via the various platforms has become firmly established in people’s everyday lives, is continuing to soar – and in 2023 it has even grown somewhat more strongly than in the previous year.” And further: “New records Acts like Udo Lindenberg, Apache 207 and Taylor Swift, as well as newcomers like Nina Chuba, impressively prove this. The playlists were particularly hot at Christmas, with a record set last Christmas Eve, the day with the most streams of all time – almost 830 million.”
Question to the radio: Why do you play so few German hits?
Also Dr. Florian Drücke, “BVMI” CEO, explains the increased streaming behavior with time- and location-independent access. As a result, music “potentially shapes every situation in our lives.” And: “It has never been easier to expand your own musical horizons, either specifically or en passant.” He also says that streaming also helps older titles gain a new or longer-lasting presence can.
He finally comes to the question: “Nine of the ten most streamed artists with songs from the 2020s are German-speaking. Given this obvious popularity, many radio stations continue to have to ask themselves why German-language titles are not available on a similar scale.”