List of the best-selling comedy recordings in Germany

The list of the best-selling comedy recordings in Germany is an overview of all comedy recordings that have been proven to have sales figures in Germany or that have received gold and platinum awards from the Federal Association of the Music Industry (BVMI). As a representative of the interests of the German music industry, this association has been awarding such certifications for commercially successful sound carriers, including from the comedy sector , since 1975 , and since 2009 in the form of a “Comedy Award” created especially for this genre. The most successful award-winning work is by Mario Barth and was published in 2007. The stage program is titled Men are primitive, but happy! and sold over 850,000 times. The oldest award-winning work dates from 1963 and is by Herbert Hisel . His single Der Pechvogel / Auf dem Oktoberfest was awarded a gold record, which was awarded to him by his music label. In 1978, records with comedic content were awarded by the BVMI for the first time. This year four albums by the East German comedian Otto Waalkes and one by the Hamburg- born Fips Asmussen received an award.

Notes on interpreting the statistics listed

This list includes comedians whose recordings have been proven to have numbers or have been awarded by the BVMI. The BVMI has officially awarded gold and platinum awards since January 1st, 1975 for audio products and since January 1st, 1991 for audio and video carriers. The record companies concerned must apply for the certifications; the awards are not automatically assigned. Already before 1975 record awards were made by the respective sound carrier manufacturer, but not according to standardized and officially tested criteria. According to a guideline dated January 1, 1976, the number of rated sales is determined according to the units sold to GEMA or another collecting society of the authors as domestic sales.

Until January 31, 1990, only gold and platinum awards were given for audio albums (albums and singles). In 1991 the so-called "Music Video Award" was introduced, which was awarded to audiovisual media from then on. This means that all video products were initially awarded the same label. On January 1, 2009, a “Comedy Award” was introduced. With its introduction, all video products from the comedy sector were awarded this separately and no longer with the “Music Video Award”. The limits of both awards are identical. Video products that were released before January 1, 2009 or 1991 can also be recognized. The basis for receiving gold and platinum awards is registration with the BVMI and attaining a certification level after the awards have been introduced. The decisive factor for the classification of a comedy product is the identification in the PHONONET article stem under program types 124 (comedy word), 127 (comedy music), 117 ( cabaret ) or 651 ( humor , satire , cabaret, comedy ). If there is no labeling, other evidence must be provided that the title in question can be considered a comedy product.

The sound carriers can be found in the following tables in descending order of their sales figures. On the one hand, the most successful works are shown in a table, the sales of which are made up of different formats, and on the other hand, the most successful formats (albums, singles and video albums) are listed in separate tables. The separate lists contain all the awards given, the “general overview” only includes works with more than 200,000 units sold. The information in the Sales column is a minimum number of phonograms sold by the work. Since there are fixed award limits for BVMI awards, the actual sales of the respective sound carriers can be somewhat higher - i.e. between the award-winning and the next award limit.

Problem

Since the BVMI has only been awarding gold and platinum awards since January 1, 1975, comedians whose career peak was before 1975 do not appear on this list unless they are mentioned in specialist literature. Furthermore, only those well-selling audio and video carriers that have been registered with the BVMI and therefore received gold and / or platinum awards are awarded.

Limits to the award of phonograms

Since September 24, 1999, the lending limits for albums have been adjusted at irregular intervals. Between 1999 and 2002, due to the decreasing sales figures, the lending limits were gradually lowered. The awards are based on the respective release date of the sound carrier, not on the date of certification. For example, an album released in 1980 is now awarded a gold record for over 250,000, not 100,000 units sold.

In Germany there is a special feature that gold records are awarded again between the platinum awards. Only AMPROFON in Mexico also follows this award system. Usually there are no further awards between the individual platinum records until a diamond record is awarded. In Germany these are awarded for albums and singles, all other sound carriers are not awarded diamond records in Germany. In countries such as Poland , the diamond record represents the highest award level. In Germany this is not the case. For example, if an album receives a diamond award from the BVMI for 750 thousand copies sold, but later reaches the eight hundred thousand mark, the diamond award is replaced by a four-fold platinum award as the highest award. There are genre-specific awards for comedy and jazz recordings, the award limits of which are identical to those of the video albums.

Albums

Award	until September 24, 1999	until December 31, 2002	until December 31, 2012	since January 1, 2013
gold	250,000	150,000	100,000
platinum	500,000	300,000	200,000
3 × gold	750,000	450,000	300,000
2 × platinum	1,000,000	600,000	400,000
...
diamond	-			750,000

Comedy award and video albums

Award	Sales
gold	25,000
platinum	50,000
3 × gold	75,000
2 × platinum	100,000
...

List of the best-selling comedy recordings

• Rank: indicates the order of the sound carriers. This is determined by the amount of the "sales".
• Release year: the year in which the phonogram was first published.
• Year award: the year in which a gold and platinum award was last made.
• Title: gives the title of the work.
• Artist: indicates which comedians are involved in the sound carrier.
• Award: reflects the highest award of the gold and platinum awards awarded.
• Sales: indicates the award limit of the "awards".

List of the best-selling comedy recordings (general overview)

The following list contains an overview of the most successful comedy recordings regardless of the medium in which they appeared. The only works that have won awards in both their audio and video format are the two works Men are Pigs, but so are women! and men are primitive but happy! by the Berlin comedian Mario Barth and the work Back to Life by the Bavarian stand-up comedian Michael Mittermeier . All other recordings were only awarded for one format.

Mario Barth (2017)

Otto Waalkes (2006)

Fips Asmussen (2012)

rank	Year release	Year exc.	title	Artist	Award	Sales
1	2007	2012	Men are primitive but happy!	Mario Barth	13 × platinum (video) +  platinum (album)	850,000
2	2005	2010	Men are pigs, but so are women!	Mario Barth	12 × platinum (video) +  gold (album)	700,000
3	1963	19 ??	The unlucky person / At the Oktoberfest	Herbert Hisel	gold	500,000
	1964	19 ??	The movie star / the sausage salad	Herbert Hisel
	1964	19 ??	In America / The ax in the house ... (Do It Yourself)	Herbert Hisel
	1973	1984	Otto	Otto Waalkes	platinum
	1973	1988	Jokes churned out	Fips Asmussen
	1975	1978	Oh, Otto	Otto Waalkes
	1979	1980	The East Frisian messenger of the gods	Otto Waalkes
10	1972	1984	What a rascal am I again	Heinz Erhardt	gold	250,000
	1975	1979	Jokes churning out II	Fips Asmussen
	1976	1978	The fourth program	Otto Waalkes
	1977	1978	The word for Monday	Otto Waalkes
	1978	1982	A hat full of jokes	Fips Asmussen
	1978		Ottocolor	Otto Waalkes
	1980		The nipple	Mike Kruger
	1981	1982	Otto messes up Hamburg	Otto Waalkes
	1983	1984	Help, Otto is coming!	Otto Waalkes
	1991	1999	Not without my papa	Bath salts
	1993	1994	Diwodaso	Bath salts
	1995	1996	The grand winner	Rudiger Hoffmann
	1995	1996	Tender butcher	Bath salts
	2000	2003	Back to Life	Michael Mittermeier	2 × platinum (video) +  gold (album)
	2005	2010	Stromberg Season 1	Christoph Maria Herbst	5 × platinum
24	2006	2009	Stromberg Season 2	Christoph Maria Herbst	4 × platinum	200,000
	2010	2012	Men are embarrassed, women too sometimes!	Mario Barth

List of best-selling audio albums

The following list contains an overview of the most successful comedy albums. The works were awarded the gold and platinum awards for albums .

Heinz Erhardt (postage stamp)

Rüdiger Hoffmann (2009)

rank	Year release	Year exc.	title	Artist	Sales
1	1973	1984	Otto	Otto Waalkes	Platinum (500,000+)
	1973	1988	Jokes churned out	Fips Asmussen
	1975	1978	Oh, Otto	Otto Waalkes
	1979	1980	The East Frisian messenger of the gods	Otto Waalkes
5	1972	1984	What a rascal am I again	Heinz Erhardt	Gold (250,000+)
	1975	1979	Jokes churning out II	Fips Asmussen
	1976	1978	The fourth program	Otto Waalkes
	1977	1978	The word for Monday	Otto Waalkes
	1978	1982	A hat full of jokes	Fips Asmussen
	1978		Ottocolor	Otto Waalkes
	1980		The nipple	Mike Kruger
	1981	1982	Otto messes up Hamburg	Otto Waalkes
	1983	1984	Help, Otto is coming!	Otto Waalkes
	1991	1999	Not without my papa	Bath salts
	1993	1994	Diwodaso	Bath salts
	1995	1996	The grand winner	Rudiger Hoffmann
	1995	1996	Tender butcher	Bath salts
18th	2007	2008	Men are primitive but happy!	Mario Barth	Platinum (200,000+)
19th	2000		Back to Life	Michael Mittermeier	Gold (150,000+)
	2000	2003	I'm coming … !	Rudiger Hoffmann
21st	2005	2009	Men are pigs, but so are women!	Mario Barth	Gold (100,000+)

List of the best-selling singles

The following list contains an overview of the most successful comedy singles. The works were awarded the gold and platinum awards for singles .

rank	Year release	Year exc.	title	Artist	Sales
1	1963	19 ??	The unlucky person / At the Oktoberfest	Herbert Hisel	Gold (500,000+)
	1964	19 ??	The movie star / the sausage salad	Herbert Hisel
	1964	19 ??	In America / The ax in the house ... (Do It Yourself)	Herbert Hisel

List of best-selling video albums

The following list contains an overview of the most successful video albums in the comedy category. Video albums include Blu-Ray , DVD, and VHS video formats . The works were awarded either a comedy award or a music video award.

Christoph Maria Herbst (2014)

Michael Mittermeier (2009)

Sascha Grammel (2014)

Stefan Raab (2010)

Carolin Kebekus (2016)

rank	Year release	Year exc.	title	Artist	Sales
1	2007	2012	Men are primitive but happy!	Mario Barth	13 × platinum (650,000+)
2	2005	2010	Men are pigs, but so are women!	Mario Barth	12 × platinum (600,000+)
3	2005	2010	Stromberg Season 1	Christoph Maria Herbst	5 × platinum (250,000+)
4th	2006	2009	Stromberg Season 2	Christoph Maria Herbst	4 × platinum (200,000+)
	2010	2012	Men are embarrassed, women too sometimes!	Mario Barth
6th	2006	2010	Paranoid	Michael Mittermeier	3 × platinum (150,000+)
	2007	2010	Stromberg season 3	Christoph Maria Herbst
	2009	2013	Dog-German, German-Dog	Martin Rütter
	2010	2013	Do not rush me!	Sascha Grammel
10	2002	2003	Back to Life	Michael Mittermeier	2 × platinum (100,000+)
	2002	2003	Welcome to the Fabulous Bully Parade	Various interpreters : Bullyparade 1
	2007	2010	Hape Kerkeling Live "On tour again"	Hape Kerkeling
	2008	2010	Ouch!	René Marik
	2008	2013	safari	Michael Mittermeier
	2009	2010	Stromberg Season 4	Christoph Maria Herbst
	2011	2012	Stromberg Season 5	Christoph Maria Herbst
	2013	2016	No idea	Sascha Grammel
	2013	2014	Men are to blame, say the women!	Mario Barth
18th	2001	2002	Best of TV total 2001	Stefan Raab	Platinum (50,000+)
	2003	2004	Otto - The DVD	Otto Waalkes
	2004	2011	Kalkofes focusing screen Vol. 1	Oliver Kalkofe
	2004	2011	Only at its finest	Dieter Nuhr
	2004	2005	Otto - the first 15 years	Otto Waalkes
	2006	2007	The live crown jewels	Atze Schröder
	2006	2013	It's me	Dieter Nuhr
	2006	2010	Well, you old shit!	Kurt Kromer
	2008	2012	Schizophrenia - I wanted to be a princess	Cindy from Marzahn
	2010	2014	Watch out baby live	Michael Mittermeier
	2010	2015	Finally free time - what a stress!	Paul Panzer
	2012	2013	The best of Simon's Cat	Simon Tofield
	2013	2017	It doesn't do anything!	Martin Rütter
	2015	2019	Men are crazy but sexy!	Mario Barth
	2016	2017	That's funny	Sascha Grammel
32	1994	1996	Emil Steinberger - Vol. 1	Emil Steinberger	Gold (25,000+)
	1994	1996	Emil Steinberger - Vol. 2	Emil Steinberger
	1999	2000	Zapped!	Michael Mittermeier
	2002		Best of TV total Vol. 2	Stefan Raab
	2002		Ladykracher Season 1	Anke Engelke
	2004	2011	Kalkofes focusing screen Vol. 2	Oliver Kalkofe
	2005	2006	Best of The Kurt Krömer Show	Kurt Kromer
	2005	2006	Best of Pocher: the rise and fall of a B celebrity	Oliver Pocher
	2005	2006	My new friend	Christian Ulmen
	2006	2013	Half faked	Bülent Ceylan
	2006	2015	News from Büttenwarder Season 1	Different interpreters: News from Büttenwarder 2
	2006	2008	Pastewka season 1	Bastian Pastewka
	2007	2009	Lucky charm	Eckart von Hirschhausen
	2007	2009	The Otto Show	Otto Waalkes
	2007	2011	Pastewka season 2	Bastian Pastewka
	2007	2011	Switch reloaded season 1	Various artists: Switch reloaded 3
	2007	2011	Switch reloaded season 2	Various artists: Switch reloaded 3
	2008	2010	Home evening deluxe	Paul Panzer
	2008	2009	Made in Germany Live	Kaya Yanar
	2008	2009	Otto live! The original	Otto Waalkes
	2008	2011	Switch reloaded season 3	Various artists: Switch reloaded 4
	2008	2010	Two Santa Clauses	Christoph Maria Herbst & Bastian Pastewka
	2009	2013	10 years of TV total - the anniversary DVD	Stefan Raab
	2009	2011	Bülent Ceylan - Live!	Bülent Ceylan
	2009	2012	Happiness rarely comes alone ...	Eckart von Hirschhausen
	2009	2010	Maternity Protection	Atze Schröder
	2009	2013	Near the truth	Dieter Nuhr
	2010	2011	Pretty turbulent	Bülent Ceylan
	2010	2011	KasperPop	René Marik
	2011	2016	The hate preacher / Hardcore live	Serdar Somuncu
	2012	2013	Hard to port - the world can still be saved!	Paul Panzer
	2012	2017	Pastewka season 6	Bastian Pastewka
	2012	2013	The crime scene cleaner	Bjarne girl
	2013	2016	Pussy Terror Live	Carolin Kebekus
	2014	2015	Everything at the beginning	Paul Panzer
	2014	2017	Pastewka Season 7	Bastian Pastewka
	2015	2018	detention	Martin Rütter
	2016	2018	I'm Lucky I'm Luke	Luke Mockridge

Leaderboards

after excellent works number Artist 12 Otto Waalkes 6th Christoph Maria Herbst Michael Mittermeier 5 Mario Barth Bastian Pastewka 4th Paul Panzer 3 Fips Asmussen Bath salts Bülent Ceylan Sascha Grammel Herbert Hisel Dieter Nuhr Stefan Raab Martin Rütter Switch reloaded 3 4 2 Eckart von Hirschhausen Rudiger Hoffmann Oliver Kalkofe Kurt Kromer René Marik Atze Schröder Emil Steinberger

after sales number Artist 2,900,000 Otto Waalkes 1,900,000 Mario Barth 1,500,000 Herbert Hisel 1,000,000 Fips Asmussen 825,000 Christoph Maria Herbst 750,000 Bath salts 575,000 Michael Mittermeier 400,000 Rudiger Hoffmann 300,000 Sascha Grammel 250,000 Heinz Erhardt Mike Kruger 225,000 Martin Rütter 125,000 René Marik Dieter Nuhr Paul Panzer Bastian Pastewka 100,000 Hape Kerkeling Stefan Raab

Remarks

• ¹Leading actors: Michael Herbig , Rick Kavanian and Christian Tramitz .
• ²Leading actors: Peter Heinrich Brix , Jan Fedder , Günter Kütemeyer , Axel Olsson and Sven Walser .
• ³Leading actors: Bernhard Hoëcker , Martina Hill , Max Giermann , Michael Kessler , Michael Müller , Peter Nottmeier , Petra Nadolny , Susanne Pätzold and Mona Sharma .
• ^4th Leading actors: Bernhard Hoëcker, Martina Hill, Max Giermann, Michael Kessler, Michael Müller, Peter Nottmeier, Petra Nadolny and Susanne Pätzold.

See also

• German album charts
• List of the best-selling music albums certified by BVMI in Germany
• List of the best-selling video albums certified by BVMI in Germany
• List of artists with the highest number of BVMI certified recordings sales

Individual evidence

1. ↑ SVSC: Happy Birthday, Golden Record !. ( Memento from February 6, 2013 in the web archive archive.today ) hr-online.de, February 10, 2012, accessed on April 27, 2019.
2. ^ Award guidelines of the Association of the German Music Industry. (No longer available online.) Musikindustrie.de, archived from the original on March 28, 2010 ; Retrieved April 22, 2009 . 
3. ↑ Guidelines for gold and platinum records. (No longer available online.) Reverb24.de, archived from the original on December 22, 2009 ; accessed on August 29, 2017 . 
4. ↑ Guidelines for Gold / Platinum and Diamond Awards. musikindustrie.de, accessed on February 19, 2018 . 
5. ↑ ^{a b c} Award limits. musikindustrie.de, accessed on January 6, 2018 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci cj ck cl cm cn} gold / platinum database. musikindustrie.de, accessed on December 18, 2019 .  (Search required)
7. ^ ^{A b c} Günter Ehnert: Hit balance sheet - German chart singles 1956-1980 . 1st edition. Verlag popular music-literature, Norderstedt 2000, ISBN 3-922542-24-7 , p. 444 .

Web links

• BVMI gold / platinum database

This version was included in the selection of informative lists and portals on March 26, 2018 .