List of highest-certified music artists in Germany

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This list includes music artists with at least five million record sales in Germany, based on certifications by the BVMI (Bundesverband Musikindustrie).[1] Artists are ranked in descending order.

Awards are only presented if and when a record company applies for certification, it is not done automatically. Only records that were declared to and registered by the BVMI receive awards. The BVMI began its certifications in 1975, therefore popular artists from earlier eras are generally not represented on this list. This excludes artists such as Peter Alexander, Freddy Quinn, Caterina Valente, or the Rolling Stones, and may explain the lower-than-expected sales figures for pre-1975 artists like The Beatles. Certifications are based on a record's release date.[2]

Video albums have been included since 1991 and streaming since 2016.[3] Until 5 April 2018, a unit was equal to 1000 streams for albums and 100 streams for singles. Those numbers were raised to 2000 streams for albums and 200 streams for singles on 6 April of that year.[4]

Artists by certified units[]

13 million records or more[]

Name Nationality Certification period Certified units
Herbert Grönemeyer  German 1984–2018 18,075,000
Peter Maffay  German 1979–2018 14,350,000
Phil Collins  British 1981–2011 14,300,000
Rolf Zuckowski  German 1989–2012 13,975,000
Die Toten Hosen  German 1989–2018 13,650,000

11 to 12.9 million records[]

Name Nationality Certification period Certified units
Queen  British 1978–2018 12,625,000
Madonna  American 1985–2012 12,550,000
Marius Müller-Westernhagen  German 1981–2017 12,075,000
Michael Jackson  American 1983–2014 11,275,000
Helene Fischer  German 2007–2018 11,150,000

9 to 10.9 million records[]

Name Nationality Certification period Certified units
AC/DC  Australian 1980–2016 10,600,000
Robbie Williams  British 2000–2018
ABBA  Swedish 1976–2008 10,550,000
Rihanna  Barbadian 2007–2018 10,400,000
Andrea Berg  German 2002–2017 9,600,000
Elton John  British 1982–2004 9,550,000
Pur  German 1993–2017 9,525,000
Ed Sheeran  British 2012–2018 9,000,000

7 to 8.9 million records[]

Name Nationality Certification period Certified units
Die Flippers  German 1987–2012 8,650,000
Céline Dion  Canada 1996–2003 8,000,000
Die Ärzte  German 1988–2012 7,850,000
Wolfgang Petry  German 1983–2014 7,825,000
David Guetta  French 2010–2018 7,800,000
The Beatles  British 1993–2007 7,600,000
Pink Floyd  British 1977–2015 7,500,000

6 to 6.9 million records[]

Name Nationality Certification period Certified units
Bee Gees  British
 Australian
1978–2005 6,675,000
Eminem  American 2000–2018 6,625,000
Backstreet Boys  American 1996–2003 6,500,000
Dieter Bohlen  German 1985–2017 6,400,000
Tina Turner  American
  Swiss
1985–2009 6,300,000
Roger Whittaker  British 1977–2011 6,100,000
The Kelly Family  Irish
 American
1994–2017 6,075,000
Joe Cocker  British 1986–2014 6,050,000
Depeche Mode  British 1985–2017
Andrea Bocelli  Italian 1996–1999 6,000,000

5 to 5.9 million records[]

Name Nationality Certification period Certified units
Eros Ramazzotti  Italian 1988–2013 5,950,000
BAP  German 1982–2013 5,900,000
Genesis  British 1978–2008 5,875,000
P!nk  American 2002–2017
Linkin Park  American 2001–2017 5,850,000
U2  Irish 1986–2018
Modern Talking  German 1985–2003 5,700,000
Xavier Naidoo  German 1998–2016 5,625,000
Roxette  Swedish 1990–2012
Sting  British 1986–2012 5,600,000
Whitney Houston  American 1986–2009 5,400,000
Simply Red  British 1986–2013 5,350,000
Britney Spears  American 1999–2018
James Last  German 1976–1999 5,250,000
Avicii  Swedish 2012–2018 5,200,000
Timbaland  American 2000–2018
Unheilig  German 2010–2017
Bon Jovi  American 1987–2013 5,150,000

See also[]

External links[]

References[]

  1. ^ "BVMI data bank". musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
  2. ^ "BVMI limits". musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
  3. ^ "Meilenstein der Chartgeschichte: Streaming wird in offizielle deutsche Album-Charts integriert (English: Chart history milestone: streaming gets integrated in the official German album charts)". musikindustrie.de. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
  4. ^ "BVMI rules". musikindustrie.de. Retrieved 22 May 2018. (in German)
Retrieved from ""