If someone had placed a bet on the most successful album of the year in Germany, a bet on “The Life Of A Showgirl” would have brought in at most a few cents. Taylor Swift’s twelfth album once again broke all sorts of records and is – unsurprisingly – also at number one in the annual rankings.
A place that the previous work “The Tortured Artists Department” occupied last year, ahead of Billie Eilish’s “Hit Me Hard And Soft” and the Linkin Park comeback (“From Zero”). The albums are now ranked fourth and second. In third place is the soundtrack of the Netflix hit “K-Pop Demon Hunters”.
Some of these names can also be found in the top 10 of the singles charts. However, not at the top and Taylor Swift is even completely missing here. There are also two German-language songs in the top three: “Tau mich auf” by Zartmann and the front runner “Wackelkontakt”. The song by Bavarian musician Beni Hafner (stage name Oimara) spent almost the entire year in the charts – seven weeks of which were at number one. According to GfK, the top three are very close together.
Now charts are always wonderfully clear. The order is clear, there are no footnotes and if a song is at the top, it will probably have been more successful than others below. But what does “more successful” mean?
In Germany, sales count, in the USA, units
In Germany, the charts are calculated weekly based on the sales achieved with a song or album. Swift’s album was the highest-grossing of the year and no single song grossed more than “Wackelkontakt”.
But in the USA, for example, the chart calculation works completely differently. This is how the world-famous Billboard 200 charts are created by units. A sold album on record, CD or cassette is a unit – so far, so uncomplicated. However, in order to be able to take into account downloads of individual songs (hardly relevant) and streams (all the more relevant), these must be converted into “album equivalents”.
Ten individual downloads of songs from an album (“track equivalent albums”) are counted as one sold unit according to the rules of the US chart investigators. The same applies to 1250 streams from a subscriber or 3750 in one of the various advertising-based free offers (“streaming equivalent albums”). Watching official, i.e. not user-generated, music videos also counts as an ad-financed stream.
Distributions from Spotify and Co make up the majority of income
In the sales-based German system, streams are also included with a separate but more complicated formula, as a value in euros must always be taken into account per stream. The amount is not published. In Germany, advertising-financed and video streams are generally only taken into account for the single charts.
And the world of charts has other rules of the game. For example, until the change at the end of July 2025, in the first two weeks after an album release, only pre-released songs and a so-called “focus track” were also counted for the single charts. Since August, according to GfK Entertainment, a maximum of the eight most successful tracks from an album have been taken into account in the single charts.
The distributions from Spotify, Apple, Amazon, Youtube Music & Co. have accounted for the majority of the industry’s income for years. All services generate around two thirds of their revenue from music. In the first half of the year, 81.2 percent of the 1.157 billion euros in the German market for music recordings (distributions to songwriters and publishers are not taken into account) came from streaming services.
Why recordings are still important – and central to the album charts
The physical business only contributed 12.5 percent of total sales in the first half of the year. But for individual artists, record sales are sometimes very important. This is because the sale of records for, for example, 25 euros each adds up to a sum in one fell swoop that sometimes only accrues over time through streaming.
On the other hand, the songs on the streaming services continue to bring in more money with each new download, although when broken down to individual downloads it is only tiny amounts.
Due to the German sales method, physical sales are also a big factor for the album charts. While singles on recordings are an absolute niche business, there is a whole range of offers around album releases: pressings in different colors, different cover looks or recordings with different additions. So-called “bundles”, where T-shirts or other fan items are included, have been very popular for years.
In order to limit the effect of these packages, a “bundle” is counted for the charts with a maximum value of 40 euros.
Linkin Park and when the streaming effect works
Against this background, looking at the album charts is even more interesting. Swift’s “Life Of A Showgirl,” for example, wasn’t released until the beginning of October. The fact that it is still at number one on the annual list underlines how in demand Swift’s recordings were and are. However, many other albums in the top 10 were released last year.
“From Zero,” for example, was released in mid-November 2024. At that time, just three weeks of sales were enough to reach third place in the annual charts. “Hit Me Hard And Soft” came onto the market in May 2024 and the predecessor to “Life Of A Showgirl” is also in the top 10 again this year.
This longevity shows the streaming effect, which only develops its full effect over a certain period of time and which can affect an artist’s entire catalog. “Meteora”, Linkin Park’s more than 20-year-old hit album, also made it into the top 10 this year. It was inspired by the band’s comeback and tour through Germany and of course accompanied by new pressings.
Taylor Swift sells almost 3.5 million copies in just one week
Sales figures for individual albums or titles are not published. The industry has traditionally kept a low profile in this regard. Only a few selected (best) values flank the annual charts.
According to GfK Entertainment, “The Life Of A Showgirl” has sold more than 225,000 copies in Germany so far. With almost 950 million streams, Swift was also the most streamed artist.
In the first week alone, their album sold 3,479,500 copies on vinyl, CD and cassette in the USA. With streams and downloads it was 4,002,000 units.
Who ultimately earns how much from the success of a work is a completely different topic. The charter agents only indicate the companies that are responsible for sales.
If an artist only works with a label or pure distributor for this basic service, then the majority of the income usually goes to them.
How is the money actually distributed?
If a label also takes on various marketing tasks, significantly more than half of the royalties usually remain with them.
There have long been a wide variety of deal forms and divisions. And as is well known, advances also have to be paid off. A band also logically has to divide the money that ultimately goes to them among the members.
In addition, there is sometimes management, any external musicians or other companies with whom the creatives work and who receive their share. So everything is very complicated in the music world.
