Which songs are most popular abroad?
Which songs by German songwriters were the most successful abroad in 2024? In first place is a song that was already 60 years old at the time: “L-O-V-E” by German composer Bert Kaempfert. This global hit was performed by Nat King Cole, among others. Second place goes to “What is Love” by songwriters Dee Dee Halligan and Junior Torello from 1993, performed by Haddaway. In third place is a cantata: Carmina Burana by Carl Orff. This is followed by plenty of “Hot Stuff,” such as the song of the same name by Peter Bellotte, Harold Faltermeier, and Keith Forsey.
*Positions 2 and 8, as well as 5 and 6, each feature the original song and a recent adaptation. If the versions were combined, “What is Love (Baby Don’t Hurt Me)” would be at number 1 and “Forever Young” at number 2.
Note: The international chart is based on usage reports that GEMA receives from its sister organizations. This is the Top 10 for 2024, as the data for 2025 will not be available until late 2026.
In which month are the most works submitted?
When are GEMA members at their most creative? It’s hard to say, because there’s no record of who writes which song and when. However, we do know when the most works are registered: August is clearly in the lead, followed by November and June. Does that make it the most creative month? Maybe. But it could also be that August is simply when people have time to register their works.
So many works were WERE SUBMITTED IN 2025
2,174,903 works were registered in 2025 alone. That’s quite a lot. The count included all works in which at least one GEMA member was involved, including publishers. So the odds are good that we’ll continue to enjoy musical diversity in the future.
gema members BY REPERTOIRE SIZE
Die Grafik zeigt, wie viele Werke die einzelnen GEMA Urheberinnen und Urheber bisher komponiert oder getextet haben. Der überwiegende Teil nennt zwischen 10 und 50 Werke sein eigen, doch es gibt auch beeindruckende Ausreißer nach oben. So hat eine beachtliche Anzahl mehr als 1.000 Werke geschaffen.
music publishers BY REPERTOIRE SIZE
Music publishers report figures that are quite different from those of individual creators. This is simply the nature of the business. After all, a music publisher typically publishes the works of multiple creators. Three publishers among GEMA’s members account for over 1 million works.