From Rock Legends To Rising Stars: Germany’s Continued Growth Is Diverse & Dynamic

The general theme in the European live business – and Germany’s no exception – is that it’s mixed: There’s lots of room for growth, as well as tons of content and talent performing very well; and there’s also some stagnation in certain business segments, especially the small- to medium- sized shows, and in some areas of the festival business.

“The live sector is buzzing, though it’s not without challenges. Economic stagnation in Germany and rising living costs have eaten into some households’ entertainment spending,” FKP Scorpio founder and CEO Folkert Koopmans says. “Even so, demand from fans remains high – major tours and festivals continue to draw massive crowds, proving that the appetite for live experiences is resilient, even in a tougher economic climate.”

His company promoted 22 shows of Ed Sheeran’s “Mathematics” tour this year, and reached an incredible milestone of selling 5 million tickets together since 2011. Other highlights include
Nick Cave, Jamiroquai, Mumford & Sons, Kraftwerk and James Blunt. FKP Scorpio’s flagship festivals Hurricane and Southside both celebrated great, albeit not sold-out editions, with a very good outlook for 2026 when Hurricane turns 30. Fans snatched up 60,000 tickets for both events within the first 24 hours of going on sale. FKP’s goth festival M’era Luna sold well over half of all 25,000 available tickets in just 12 hours.

See: Ed Sheeran Closes Record-Breaking ‘Mathematics Tour’ With Three Nights In Germany

“We’re still successful overall, so the trajectory is still pointing upwards. While we didn’t sell out Hurricane and Southside this year, we were able to expand our business in meaningful ways, for example by venturing further into the growing market for family entertainment and exhibitions,” says Koopmans. Examples of this include projects like Minecraft and Formula 1, which each sold more than 300,000 tickets.”Comedy is another bright spot: in Germany alone, we’ve staged hundreds of shows in the past two years, drawing over 250,000 fans. More than ever, audiences are seeking variety,” Koopmans says.

Dieter Semmelmann, CEO of Semmel Concerts, confirms that event formats outside of the core touring business are growing: “We are seeing more tribute formats in the market, and there is a visible trend toward implementing unusual formats and creating an experience for visitors.” Semmel Concerts’ 2025 has been just as intense as the year before, driven by the company’s signature mix of established touring acts and new formats.

Highlights include Roland Kaiser’s tour in spring; Hans Zimmer’s European fall tour, which is almost sold out; German star Sarah Connor, who will launch a tour off her third German-language album, released earlier this year, in 2026. Semmel Concert’s bestselling formats “Die Schlagernacht des Jahres” and “Let’s Dance – Die Tour” are returning, as well.

Looking at the market as a whole, Semmelmann gets the impression “that ticket buyers are becoming more price-sensitive. On the one hand, expensive VIP packages continue to be purchased, but on the other hand, the quality of events and the pricing structure are being scrutinized very closely.”

DEAG CEO Detlef Kornett confirms, “You can feel that spending at the bar and f&b is more conscious and selective. Consumer mindset and budgets may well play a role in that. The ever-increasing costs of everything are still driving ticket prices and lead to a massive market consolidation.”

He’s happy with DEAG’s diverse 2025 event calendar: lit.COLOGNE, one of Europe’s largest literature festivals, is attracting young and old audiences in droves; the Classic Open Air has become a highlight in Berlin’s cultural calendar; plus tours by Iron Maiden, Maite Kelly, Nena, and others, and DEAG’s growing EDM portfolio, which includes events like Mayday, Ruhr in Love, Airbeat One, Nature One, and Indian Spirit.

Iron Maiden and Nena are both promoted by Wizard Live, part of the DEAG group. The company also celebrated great success with the 60th anniversary homecoming show of legendary German rock band Scorpions this summer. Wizard Live MD Oliver Hoppe says “all our stadium and open-air shows this summer sold out or were close to a sell out. We’re now looking at a very busy autumn with medium-sized theater acts like Larkin Poe, and a big arena tour for the Böhse Onkelz in November and December. Sales are up for the bigger artists, even domestic acts like Nena, who has almost 50 shows lined up for next year, all of them slowly approaching sell out. It is a good point in time, if you have the right act.”

More good news is coming from Stuttgart, where Andreas Kroll, CEO of in.Stuttgart, operator of Schleyer-Halle and Porsche-Arena, couldn’t be happier about business. “2024 was already a fantastic year. We would have never thought that it would even be better in 2025 in terms of shows and ticket sales. The first half of 2025 was good, the second half will be crazy and absolutely great. We have never had so many shows as in the last two months of this year. Very often, we have double, triple or even quadruple shows in Schleyer-Halle, and at the same time sold-out shows in Porsche-Arena,” he tells Pollstar. It worth noticing that the mini-residencies mentioned by Kroll include new and established German talent like Ayliva, Apache 207 or Böhse Onkelz, proving the strength of domestic.

Frithjof Pils, managing director of Eventim Live & SVP international growth, CTS Eventim, says “domestic talent accounts for maybe 80% of the live content in the German market. Promoters within the Eventim Live Group [which includes Semmel Concerts and FKP Scorpio] are closely embedded in local scenes, and invest heavily in longterm artist development. Germany remains a highly attractive market not only for domestic acts but also for international touring – especially as part of broader cross-country tour planning, where the Eventim Live Group offers strong structural advantages.”

Two of the group’s highlights of the year have been the anniversary editions of Rock am Ring (40) and Rock im Park (30), promoted by Eventim Live’s Dreamhaus and FKP Scorpio. The festivals, despite their age, “demonstrated continued cultural relevance – highlighted by 27 million livestream views via bild.de, Germany’s largest media brand,” according to Pils, who adds, “my personal highlight 2025 so far was the upgraded infield experience at Rock am Ring. We invested significantly in order to boost product experience which was overwhelmingly well received by fans.”

The visitor experience is everything, which sets the tone for business opportunities going forward. Wizard’s Oliver Hoppe says, “one thing that has changed in the industry in general, and I think it’s still changing significantly, is, yes, it always was and has to be artist centric. The promoter, at the end of the day, has to make the artist happy. But I think the role of the promoter to make the fan happy is becoming increasingly important for all parties involved. Our role as promoter is to make the fan happy, as well, and not just with the performance on stage, but with everything that goes around it.”

One ongoing challenge is the skyrocketing production costs. They’re nothing new, and the business has adapted to a degree, but not all companies can. Festivals in particular feel the cost increases, which is why former German mainstays like With Full Force or Melt were forced out of business in recent years.

Germany’s clubs are struggling immensely under the economic situation. Emiko Gejic, spokesperson for Berlin’s Clubcommission, described the situation for clubs, culture and nightlife in general as “quite precarious at the moment. Rising costs, uncertainty for the future, lack of guests, inflation, rising taxes, noise complaints, and lack of spaces in the urban landscape make it harder for club culture to maintain or to find new spaces to open. One of our biggest demands is the recognition of clubs as cultural sites. Currently clubs are still categorized legally as ‘leisure’ or ‘entertainment’ venues. Therefore they are facing the most precarious legal situation, and are the least protected in urban politics.”

Another hurdle in Germany’s live market, according to Koopmans, “lies in its competition. As one of Europe’s largest territories, every major international tour and countless domestic acts are competing for the same audience. For emerging artists, it’s even tougher – fans have endless options but only limited budgets, especially with living costs on the rise. From our perspective, success comes from staying grounded and putting fans first. Affordability and accessibility are key: no one should be priced out of live music. By offering inclusive, fairly priced shows and delivering real value every time, you earn the audience’s trust – and in Germany, that trust, coupled with strong word-of-mouth, is the surest path to lasting success.”

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