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Market Report: Germany

The annual guide to the global live entertainment ticketing business
Click the interactive map below to explore the top 66 global markets

Germany is a country with a strong touring market for domestic acts, but it has also long been a priority market for international acts.

The German government has recently shown support for the live sector, launching the first federal funding programme for popular music festivals in 2023, giving them €5m in new funding.

Primary ticketing
As the home base for CTS Eventim, it is unsurprising that the company dominates here. Ticketmaster is also present, while local services include TicketPAY, ticket i/O, SaaS ticketing platform vivenu, discovery platform Rausgegangen, and Reservix, while DICE arrived in Germany in 2022.

Sascha Kaderka, CEO of TicketPAY, says the competition in the market is having the net effect of driving important technological steps forward as services look to carve out their USP in a busy sector. “Dynamic pricing is a crucial topic in various industries and, alongside many other possibilities like marketing automation, is used to increase revenue and occupancy rates,” he says.

“Dynamic pricing is a crucial topic in various industries and, alongside many other possibilities like marketing automation, is used to increase revenue and occupancy rates.”

Distribution of sales
Mobile is increasingly the default way for Germans to buy tickets to events. “Print-at-home tickets remain attractive and popular, though their sales are decreasing in comparison to mobile tickets,” notes Kaderka. “Printed tickets are still in demand, particularly among older audiences or for special events.”

For premium events, there are significant differences in what types of ticket German consumers want and expect. Johannes Tolle, CEO of Reservix, says, “High-priced tickets are often ordered as physical tickets, as well as when tickets are bought as gifts. For these occasions, the physical ticket is often the popular choice. Mobile tickets simply do not offer an equivalent gift experience.”

“High-priced tickets are often ordered as physical tickets, as well as when tickets are bought as gifts. Mobile tickets simply do not offer an equivalent gift experience.”

Ticketmaster says 90% of its German sales are now digital.

Jannusch Frontzek, CEO of ticket i/O, says they are also seeing 90% of ticket sales to smartphones. “For reasons of sustainability, the mobile ticket should be in the foreground here, but many users are still afraid that their cell phone will fail or something will not work on-site; therefore, a good 50% still use the option of printing out the ticket at home,” he says.

Value of market
As one of the most important live music markets in Europe, in 2024, the German live music business was worth $1.8bn, according to numbers from Statista. Growth was projected to reach $1.9bn by 2028.

“Inflation naturally also has an influence on pricing in the event industry,” says Tolle. “The willingness to pay high ticket prices for events has always been relatively high.”

“Inflation naturally also has an influence on pricing in the event industry.”

Frontzek says the aftereffects of Covid, combined with the war in Ukraine, are negatively impacting on the margins for festivals and concerts in Germany.

Karsten Elbrecht, COO of CTS Eventim, says there are plenty of opportunities to grow revenues here by expanding what the ticketing offering is. “We are enhancing our VIP experience offerings, as customers increasingly desire more than just a ticket,” he says. “Among many other initiatives, we are continually refining our marketing strategies to better engage with mid- and long-tail content, ensuring that we reach a broader audience.”

Secondary ticketing
Major secondary brands like Viagogo, StubHub, and TicketSwap are seen as having a strong foothold in the German market, where there is a 120% price cap on such sales.

Primary ticketing companies, however, are fighting back with their own offerings that they feel are more consumer friendly. Klaus Zemke, regional vice president, Central Europe and managing director, GSA at Ticketmaster, outlines his company’s position. “Ticket transfer and resale are products that fans and event organisers love,” he says, “and we are pushing their adoption across more events and venues.”

“Ticket transfer and resale are products that fans and event organisers love.”

For Frontzek, transparency is the most crucial factor here. “We work with TicketSwap because they have developed a very transparent model and work together with the event organisers or ticketing service providers,” he says. “Other models such as Viagogo are much less transparent and often very overpriced. Nevertheless, the secondary market is slowly emerging from the dark corner into a serious alternative for sold-out events.”

TicketSwap itself argues that the public view of secondary sales is shifting – as is the industry’s view. “Where it was a rather shady business a couple of years back, it is now being perceived more and more as an opportunity for promoters and ticketing companies, including an additional revenue stream, as well as offering their customers flexibility and additional value,” the company says.

“Nevertheless, the secondary market is slowly emerging from the dark corner into a serious alternative for sold-out events.”

International/domestic splits & genres
The sheer size of the German live market means it is a priority for international acts touring in Europe, with most including multiple German cities on their itineraries.
Zemke says Ticketmaster is working on ways to nurture and grow acts through the German market. “Our global reach lets us help rising acts and grassroots venues connect with wider audiences,” he says. “We’re excited to work with more independent promoters to make this happen.”

“Our global reach lets us help rising acts and grassroots venues connect with wider audiences,”

Local hip-hop acts are among the most popular in the country. Rock and pop perform well, as (increasingly) does electronic music. Schlager and German folk may not have much export potential outside German-speaking markets, but acts within these genres remain huge draws in the country.

Cultural analysis
Germany has one of the strongest economies in Europe, but it cannot follow that prices keep rising. “So far, the market has accepted these increases,” says Kaderka. “It remains to be seen whether further price increases will be sustainable in the long term or if overall demand will suffer.”

Inflation and the rising cost of living is something ticketing companies are keenly aware of, and there is a growing demand for cheaper tickets as well as flexible payment models.

In late 2023, the German government introduced the Kulturpass, giving all 18-year-olds €200 each to spend on live culture events. France, Italy, and Spain have similar schemes, and its introduction in Germany was intended to boost the arts scene after Covid lockdown restrictions were lifted.

Taxes & charges
“VAT depends on the type of event, the organiser’s business form, and potentially the regional tax office,” explains Kaderka. “There are tiered rates of 0%, 7%, and 19%.”

For cultural events, such as concerts and theatre performances, the rate is typically 7%. The high rate of 19% is applied only to events that have little or no cultural component. For non-profit events, a VAT exemption will normally apply. The cut taken by ticketing companies on sales is typically between 5% and 6% of the ticket price.

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