Schlager Star Howard Carpendale Warns of Profound Shift in Music Industry
Howard Carpendale slams streaming's toll on music's golden era
Schlager legend Howard Carpendale has issued a stark warning about the deep transformation gripping the music business. "I hate to say it, but people still don't realize that music as we know it—music as we make it—is gradually dying out," the 80-year-old told Die Zeit. Streaming services, he argued, have fundamentally reshaped the industry, and the era of hits that captivate entire nations is all but over. "Streaming is destroying everything," Carpendale declared.
Though many of his peers claim the business is booming like never before, he bluntly counters: "That's absolute nonsense." In the past, artists earned Gold Records for selling 250,000 albums; today, the threshold is just 75,000—yet even that is nearly unattainable. "Composers, singers, arrangers—we're out. Gone."
Carpendale also voiced sharp criticism of Germany's societal trajectory, calling the widening gap between rich and poor "maddening." He described the education system as crumbling in many places. "This country has been asleep for 40 years," he said, emphasizing that he still feels a calling to make a positive difference.
The South African-born performer, who has graced the stage for over six decades, is set to embark on his farewell tour of Germany this year. Yet the prospect leaves him unfazed. "I know exactly what to do on stage," he said. "I have a gift—I can hush an audience so completely that 10,000 people fall silent. A minute later, I can make them so loud you'd hear them in the next town over."
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