A mid-year report for Germany’s music industry shows growth which the experts are attributing largely to the massive rise in music streaming’s popularity.

A report from German music research body Bundesverband Musikindustrie has shown that Germany’s music industry is on the rise with a growth in value of 3.6% over the first half of 2015. A large part of this growth is thanks to music streaming services which have almost doubled in value since last year.

The report shows that revenue from paid streaming services has increased by 88% totalling it’s market share to 24.4%. Digital downloads aren’t quite the monumental success of music streaming but make up a decent 14% of total sales in a country where physical music is still the most popular format. Speaking of which the vinyl resurgence is alive and well in Germany as vinyl sales saw a 46.2% increase compared to the same time last year, for a 4.3% market share. CDs still dominate in Germany making up over 50% of the market.

Germany’s Federal Music Industry Association (BVMI) managing director, Florian Drücke said: “Although the sheer pace of digitisation may be causing some of us a bit of distress, we still consider the latest figures to be heartening in two ways; first of all, the German market continues its growth, thus enlarging everyone’s share of the pie and, secondly, the increases we’re seeing in the realm of audio streaming – almost a doubling of sales percentages in comparison to the first half of 2015 (12.8%) – make it clear that our industry is successfully adapting to the realities of the digital world.

“It also proves that we’ve developed offerings that a large number of consumers have long since accepted. However, the only way we can carry this transformation process further is if we ensure that our content is sufficiently protected against copyright infringement – both online and offline – and also that all participants are able to benefit fairly from the proceeds. Indeed, this isn’t about the future any longer, but about the digital present.”

Drücke’s concerns were shared with BVMI chairman Dieter Gorny. Whilst it’s fantastic that streaming is on the rise so massively and boosting the music industry around the world, as it becomes the primary source of music consumption we need to make sure it is a format that works for the artists and the consumers.

BVMI chairman, Dieter Gorny said: “Current statistics indicate that the process of digitisation is occurring even faster than we previously thought. And this increasing shift of music towards the digital realm makes it more important than ever that we fully elucidate the framework conditions under which creatives and their partners work so that we can adapt these conditions to tangible reality as quickly as possible.

“A few weeks ago, more than 1,100 musicians and bands signed and sent an open letter to the EU Commission, thus showing that artists – who form the nucleus and backbone of our entire industry – have serious concerns about their future. Without wanting to sound too dramatic, the fact is that if we don’t adjust our current situation, it might have profound consequences on the art of making music on a professional level.”