German Music Market Grows in H1 2026 While US CD Sales Surge

The German music industry recorded revenues of €670 million in the first half of 2026, a 5.4 % increase year‑on‑year. Streaming remained the dominant source, accounting for 86.4 % of the market and growing 5.5 %, while the physical segment rose 5.3 %, driven by vinyl sales up 9.8 % (now 47.8 % of physical sales) and CDs modestly up 0.8 %. BVMI chairman Dr. Florian Drücke highlighted the growing importance of “super‑fans” in connecting artists and audiences.

In the United States, CD sales jumped 16 % to 16.3 million units in the same period, outpacing vinyl’s 2.4 % growth. Even after excluding K‑pop releases, CD sales were still up 6.7 %. Physical music formats overall increased about 7.8 % year‑on‑year, although roughly half of CD purchasers do not own a playback device, treating the discs as collectibles rather than listening media.