Interest in hard rock and heavy metal in Germany 2016-2020

In 2020, roughly 7.04 million Germans were highly interested in listening to hard rock and heavy metal. Germany is known for bands in both genres, such as Scorpions and Rammstein, to name just a few. Many have found international success and have had long musical careers, as well as retained loyal fans. While hard rock and heavy metal may be the main label associated with these bands in terms of genre, they also draw on other sub-genres and influences in their music and performances..

Music to the ears

The three most popular music genres in Germany, based on a survey conducted in 2020, were rock and pop, oldies and evergreens and the national traditional popular music genre called “Schlager”. The style and sound of the latter is perhaps best understandable after listening to a few songs. This ranking is also echoed among those consumers still buying music CDs. An increasing share of German listeners is accessing the music they want through online music streaming services. Among these, the leading services used to stream music online were Spotify and Amazon Music.

Streams of sound

When dividing the German music market by genre share in total industry revenue, international pop takes center stage. Following next are rock and hip hop. Generally revenue from music sales in Germany has been going down since the start of the millennium, one of the reasons being that online music streaming offers consumers the opportunity to listen to a wide range of music of their choice repeatedly without having to buy individual tracks or albums.