German artists are becoming more important internationally

Music industry - German artists are becoming more important internationally

German musicians in the world - this could become an even more important topic for the music industry in this country in the coming years. "Music fans are often very interested in local music, even if you can get the impression from listening to the radio that international repertoire dominates," said Florian Drücke, Chairman of the Board of the German Music Industry Association, in an interview with the German Press Agency. According to its own information, the association represents the interests of around 200 record producers and music companies - which account for around 80 percent of the German music market.

Bringing local artists to the market

According to Drücke, it remains exciting to see how the phenomenon of "glocalization" - the mix of globalization and localization - will develop in the coming years. "Streaming offers a great opportunity for local artists here. In any case, German radio can do even more in this respect." It remains a challenge how to establish musicians worldwide from Germany - in German or English or as electronic music DJs regardless of language.

The Vice President of the German Music Council, Udo Dahmen, also sees this as an important development for the internationalization of the German music market. "There are many artists who sing in English and for whom an international career is interesting." Alice Merton, Zoe Wees, Kim Petras, but also DJs such as Robin Schulz or Paul van Dyk, some of whom have made it into the UK and US charts with their songs or collaborations, are just the best-known examples.

Berlin is becoming more important as a location

Berlin could also become increasingly important as a location. According to Dahmen, the capital has been particularly exciting for many artists since the fall of communism. "In recent years, living and working space has become scarcer and more expensive due to the permanent influx of artists." This is an issue for young artists in particular, which makes it more difficult for them to gain a foothold in the city.

The Warner Music Group label probably took a step in this direction this year when it opened a representative office in Berlin. Drücke from the music association says quite clearly: "In the global market, not everything in Europe takes place in London anymore." Many international careers have also started in Berlin. "I notice that a lot is happening here, also in terms of cooperation with the start-up scene."

Digital market continues to shape the music industry

"We can see that the industry's strategy of embracing digitalization has paid off and is bearing fruit," says Drücke. Never before has there been so much music on so many different channels as there is now. "We come from an industry that saw its sales collapse 20 years ago - due to the many illegal uses. 20 years later, we have managed to bring many people into highly attractive legal and, above all, paid streaming services."

Making music available is no longer a complicated matter, says Drücke. "The question is: how do you get noticed? The competition for attention is extremely intense these days due to the diverse and simultaneous offerings, which is why artists need strong partnerships all the more."

According to Dahmen, the music market is particularly tough for newcomers. Smaller clubs are struggling to find enough audience members - the scene has still not fully recovered after the coronavirus pandemic. It seems to have become more difficult for artists - even streaming services don't always help. "It's not easy to assert yourself via streaming or social media. Right now, the big artists are still benefiting more." Even with one million streams, musicians only earn around 4,000 euros.

Is streaming even lucrative for artists?

In recent years, the discussion about fair payment for artists has also flared up again and again. This year, Spotify has increased its price - good news, according to Drücke: "And it's another step towards making the cake bigger for creatives and their partners as a whole." As a representative of musicians in Germany, however, Dahmen is calling for a new billing model that takes greater account of lesser-known artists.