Contents
- Music creator participation statistics: How many people make music in Germany?
- Music creator participation statistics: Participation by age, social class, and gender
- Music creator participation statistics: Instruments, singing, and digital music-making
- Music creator participation statistics: Practice, genres, and performance settings
- Music creator participation statistics: Learning paths and starting age
- Music creator participation statistics: Barriers and annual spending
- Sources
Music creator participation statistics: How many people make music in Germany?
A 2024 study estimates that 16.3 million people aged 6 and older in Germany made music in their free time. Among residents aged 16 and older, the estimate was 12.4 million, or 18% of that population. The study also estimates that 3.8 million children and young people aged 6–15 made music in their free time. These figures describe amateur, leisure-time activity; they do not count professional musicians or people who make music only as paid work. Source
The figures come from a representative survey of Germany’s population aged 6 and older. Fieldwork ran from November 30, 2024, to January 7, 2025. The age groups matter: the 16.3 million total includes children, while the adult estimate covers residents aged 16 and older. Read together, the results show that music-making is a substantial leisure activity across generations, with participation especially common among children and younger adults.
Music creator participation statistics: Participation by age, social class, and gender
Participation differed by age. In the 2024 study, 26% of residents aged 16–29 made music in their free time, compared with 16% of those aged 30–44. The figures describe those two age bands; they do not establish a continuous decline for every year of age or explain why the difference exists. Source
Among adults aged 16 and older, participation also varied by socioeconomic group: 25% in the higher group, 20% in the middle group, and 12% in the lower group were amateur musicians. The pattern was not the same among children and young people aged 6–15. Their reported rates were 61% in upper social classes, 41% in middle social classes, and 43% in lower social classes. The child figures show that participation was highest in the upper group, while the middle and lower group rates were close to one another.
The survey reported different participation rates for girls and boys aged 6–15: 60% of girls and 40% of boys made music in their free time. Among adults aged 16 and older, 19% of women and 17% of men played an instrument or sang. These are different measures: the children’s figures cover free-time music-making, while the adult gender comparison specifies instrument playing or singing. Source
Music creator participation statistics: Instruments, singing, and digital music-making
Among adult amateur musicians, playing an instrument was more common among men than women: 87% of male adult amateur musicians played an instrument, compared with 72% of female adult amateur musicians. Singing was also a substantial part of adult amateur music-making: 42% of adult amateur musicians sang. These percentages use amateur musicians as their denominator, not all adults in Germany. Source
Among adult amateur musicians, guitar and piano were the most frequently reported instruments in the study: 28% played guitar and 24% played piano. Another 12% played electric piano, keyboard, or synthesizer, and 7% played drums or another percussion instrument. These are instrument-specific shares among amateur musicians aged 16 and older; they should not be added as if each person selected only one instrument.
Digital music-making appeared in a smaller share of the results. Six percent of amateur musicians aged 6 and older made music digitally. Among adult amateur musicians, the reported share was 9% for men and 3% for women. The findings show that digital creation was present in the survey, but the overall reported rate was lower than participation in the listed instruments or singing. Source
Music creator participation statistics: Practice, genres, and performance settings
Music-making was frequent for many young participants: 86% of amateur musicians aged 6–15 made music at least once a week. For amateur musicians aged 6 and older, the most commonly reported setting was at home or at private or social events with family and friends, selected by 67%. Other settings included a choir (31%), church (23%), a specific project such as an event or concert (14%), and an orchestra, ensemble, or musical group (14%). Respondents could name multiple settings, so the percentages do not represent mutually exclusive groups. Source
Adult amateur musicians reported an average of three to four performances in the previous 12 months. That is an average across the surveyed group, not a claim that every musician performed that often. Together with the setting responses, it suggests that leisure music-making can range from private practice to organized or occasional public performance.
The study also recorded multiple genre responses among adult amateur musicians. Popular music—including examples such as pop, rock, heavy metal, and hip-hop—was reported by 43%; classical music by 36%; church music by 28%; and German folk music by 25%. Global music was listed by 21%, while jazz or blues was listed by 11%. Because participants could report more than one genre, the results describe overlap as well as preference; they are not a single-choice ranking that sums to 100%. Source
Music creator participation statistics: Learning paths and starting age
Amateur musicians in Germany began making music at an average age of 12, according to the study. Reported first points of contact included school (38%), a choir, orchestra, musical association, or ensemble (31%), and a friend or family member (28%). A municipal or public music school was named by 24%, and a self-employed private music teacher by 23%. Church or church camps were reported by 19%. Source
Some participants described self-directed routes: 15% said they taught themselves using books or experimentation, while 10% cited videos, apps, or similar tools. These first-contact responses could include multiple answers. They show that formal instruction, community settings, personal connections, and independent exploration all feature in reported pathways; they do not measure how much instruction each person later received.
Music creator participation statistics: Barriers and annual spending
Time was the most prominent reported difficulty among surveyed amateur musicians. Fifty-four percent of adult amateur musicians identified lack of time as their greatest difficulty, as did 47% of child and youth amateur musicians. Cost concerns differed across the groups described: 3% of adult amateur musicians considered high costs for lessons, instruments, or equipment problematic, compared with 18% of parents whose children made music, who considered costs a big challenge. Source
Average annual spending was €192 per adult amateur musician and €536 per parent on a child’s musical hobby. These are reported averages for different groups, not a direct comparison of equivalent household budgets. The contrast between spending and perceived cost concerns also should not be read as evidence that a particular amount causes people to participate or stop: the study reports survey responses, not causal effects. Source
Taken as a whole, the study portrays amateur music-making as widespread but varied: participation rates differ by age and socioeconomic group, and people engage through instruments, singing, digital creation, ensembles, and private settings. Its findings are specific to Germany’s population aged 6 and older and to the 2024 study period, offering a detailed snapshot rather than a universal estimate for music creators elsewhere.