Musikmarkt-Preview Q2 2026: Was die BVMI-Jahreszahlen 2025 über Gen Z und das deutsche Musikgeschäft verraten

05 May Music Market 2026: What BVMI Figures Reveal About Gen Z

Posted at 09:43h in News, News by Tobias Massow

5:07 min read

Germany’s Federal Music Industry Association (BVMI) doesn’t publish Q1 figures. Only the annual balance in February/March and the mid-year report in July. If you want to know how Germany’s music business will perform in 2026, you’ll have to wait until July—or take the 2025 numbers seriously. Here’s what they reveal and what they signal for Q2.

30 April 2026

DROP

▸ BVMI annual revenue 2025: €2.42 billion, up 2.3% year-on-year. Streaming accounts for 84.4%.
▸ Streaming growth halved in 2025 to 4.1%. Double-digit gains of previous years are over.
▸ Vinyl grew 2.8% in 2025 to claim 44.2% of the physical market. CD segment shrank 11.3%.
▸ Physical vs digital split stands at 14.2% to 85.8%. Germany remains the world’s fourth-largest music market.
▸ Global music revenue 2025 per IFPI: $31.7 billion, up 6.4%—Germany lags behind the global trend.

Why Q1 data doesn’t exist—and what July delivers

The BVMI releases its annual report at the end of February or start of March, and the mid-year report in July. Quarterly figures aren’t part of the plan—creating an editorial quiet between March and July. If you need a pulse-check in the meantime, you’ll have to piece together streaming-platform reports (Spotify Wrapped, IFPI Global Music Report), retail signals (Record Store Day sales) and ticket tracking (festival trends).
At the end of April 2026 we have: the official 2025 numbers from roughly two months ago and a first-quarter 2026 view built entirely on indirect indicators. The July report will deliver the first hard data on whether streaming growth is still decelerating and whether vinyl will keep riding the 2025 momentum.

What the 2025 figures really reveal

€2.42 bn

Revenue of the German music industry in 2025 (BVMI annual report)

This is growth—but slower growth. In 2023 the German music market expanded by 6.3 percent, in 2024 by around 5 percent, and in 2025 by just 2.3 percent. The curve is flattening. Streaming remains the main driver, yet even streaming is hitting the brakes: 4.1 percent growth after double-digit increases in previous years. The real story, however, is the physical market. CDs are shrinking by 11.3 percent—a clear collapse. Vinyl is up 2.8 percent and now commands a 44.2 percent share of the physical segment. In absolute terms, that means vinyl in Germany is almost as strong as CD. Five years ago, that would have been unthinkable. By 2025, vinyl is no longer a retro product; it’s a stable revenue engine.

Gen Z and the vinyl math

The most interesting developments are happening beneath the surface. According to the IFPI Global Music Report 2026, US vinyl revenue has crossed the one-billion-dollar mark—an increase of 13.7 percent. The driver? Gen Z. Thirty-six percent of vinyl buyers first discover music on Spotify before purchasing the physical record. This isn’t vinyl versus streaming; it’s vinyl alongside streaming.

“An album on Spotify needs millions of streams to match the margin of 500 vinyl sales. This isn’t nostalgia—it’s economics.” – Observation from the German music industry, 2026

For Q2 2026, the takeaway is clear: the vinyl trend is set to continue. The Record Store Day in April 2026 is typically one of the strongest sales days of the year, and according to store reports, more than 350 exclusive pressings were offered in 2026. Artists and labels who jumped on the vinyl bandwagon are locking in their core business for the second half of the year. CDs, by contrast, are locked in a downward spiral. Minus 11.3 percent in 2025, and the curve won’t turn in 2026. For labels, that means CDs remain relevant as bundles for fans and collectors—but no longer as the backbone of cash flow.

What publishers can learn from market dynamics

From a publisher’s perspective – the view we take at InspiredByBeatz and the other EVM magazines – the number behind the number is what really matters. Streaming dominates music consumption, but it doesn’t drive purchase intent. The people buying vinyl are willing to pay. Those who only stream monetise themselves for labels and artists solely through concerts, merchandise and collaborations. That explains why festivals can push ticket prices to over €400 despite steady sales volumes – the cohort willing to pay is right there. For Q2 and H1 2026, the forecast is this: streaming will continue growing slowly, vinyl will remain stable, CDs will keep shrinking, and the real value creation in the music economy is shifting from recordings to live events and direct-to-fan commerce. The July report will show whether this thesis holds. Until then, the 2025 numbers are the best glimpse we have of 2026. If you want to dig deeper into the Gen-Z vinyl lever, our analysis explains why Gen Z is saving the format their parents gave up – the cultural foundation behind the numbers.

PLAYLIST

Q2 2026 in 4 tracks

aespa – Whiplash▶ Spotify Sabrina Carpenter – Espresso▶ Spotify Tate McRae – Sports car▶ Spotify Olivia Rodrigo – obsessed▶ Spotify

Q&A after the show

Click on a question to reveal the answer.

Why aren’t there any BVMI Q1 figures?

The German Music Industry Association (BVMI) only releases figures on an annual and semi-annual basis for methodological reasons. Quarterly reports are not part of the schedule. The next official report is typically published in the second half of July as the H1 balance.

Does streaming growth below 5 percent mean the market is in decline?

Not at all. It simply means Germany’s streaming-subscription market is nearing saturation. With an 84.4 percent share, streaming is now the dominant format—any further growth will come from price hikes, hi-fi tiers, and family plans rather than new customers.

Why is vinyl growing while CDs shrink?

Vinyl carries a cultural cachet CDs never had. Gen-Z buyers treat it as a collectible, a fashion statement, and a deliberate act of consumption. CDs have been functionally replaced by streaming—vinyl hasn’t.

What should I, as a fan, take away from these numbers?

If you want to support an artist or label, buying a vinyl record does more than millions of streams ever could. The cash-flow difference is stark. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t stream—it just means that if you have a favorite act, ordering a physical copy does them the most good.

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