Rammstein and Helene Fischer are demanding a greater slice of the digital pie – though such issues are often resolved in secret, limiting real change
![Germanys biggest artists demand labels pay greater streaming revenues](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/977b2772486921f2ad0c194d74899dd9a7dd4e48/0_108_3164_1899/master/3164.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=74328e409aa3e69b003c46f7d6bc6c96)
A collective of the biggest
music managers in
Germany has written to the three major record labels, Universal, Sony and Warner, as well as BMG, demanding a greater share of the country’s burgeoning streaming business.
The timing is telling. Until 2018, Germany (like Japan) was swimming against global trends by hanging on to a relatively defiant CD market: in 2017, the IFPI reported that physical sales made up 40.6% of the German record market, whereas streaming held at 25.5%. In 2018, though, the hierarchy shifted as physical sales dropped to a 35% share while streaming nosed past it with 37%.