Music Industry

Playing an instrument ranks high as a pastime for Germans. There are more than 14 million recreational musicians - of which 2.9 million are organized in choirs and ensembles. There are also 69,000 musicians that perform professionally.

In 2021, there were 1.4 million people enrolled in recreational music courses that were taught by 52,000 professional music teachers in 933 music schools. There are 24 pure music universities and 89 universities that feature a music faculty. This means that instruments and other musical equipment are in high demand in Germany, with many million musicians who are regularly updating their gear.

Music is an important part of Germany’s cultural life. Accordingly, music venues and live music events reported revenue of Euro 473 million in 2020, slowly recovering from the Corona pandemic. There are 130 orchestras that play a total of more than nine thousand concerts each year. They are frequented by more than five million visitors annually. The biggest music venues are displayed below.

The coronavirus pandemic  has had a big effect on industry numbers. However, activity in the sector is expected to come back to near pre-pandemic levels as the pandemic eventually recedes.

Music Tech

There is a strong music tech ecosystem with big players such as Ableton, Native Instruments and Magix all headquartered in Germany. The combination of those music tech companies and the fact that many leading electronic music artists call Germany their home makes for a unique combination that speeds up innovation in the sector.

Podcasts

In 2021, about 29 of Germans listened to podcasts at least on a monthly basis. It is not just Spotify and Apple that are active in the German market but the big news sites are also discovering the advantages of the medium. The five favorite podcast genres in Germany are: news programs, music programs, science and technology, society and culture, comedy, and entertainment. Different developments are expected to contribute to a rising popularity of podcasts. Advertising revenues for podcasts in 2021 rose to around Euro 30 million. PricewaterhouseCoopers estimates that these revenues will increase to Euro 156 million by 2023.

Highly skilled employees

Germans are fond of new technology and German engineering is world renowned for its excellence. Whether looking for skilled instrument builders or top-notch music software engineers, Germany boasts a highly qualified workforce in all of these areas. That is also why increasingly more companies recognize the value of bringing production that requires highly technical skills to Germany.