Dance Music Industry Value Revealed in 2023 IMS Business Report – Billboard

The annual IMS Business Report was presented today (April 26) at IMS Ibiza. The dance industry conference annually presents the report, which breaks down notable growth (and lag) sectors of the scene and also provides a yearly valuation of the worldwide industry.

For the first time, the report was authored by MIDiA Research’s Mark Mulligan, who presented it today to a packed room. These are eight of the key findings.

1. The Global Dance Music Industry Grew By 34% In 2022, Reaching a Value Of $11.3 Billion

This number is 16% higher than it was before the pandemic, during which the value of the global industry reached historic lows as live events shut down. But, the report states, “2022 saw festivals and clubs rebound, finally shaking off most of the effects of the pandemic, representing nearly half of all dance industry revenues.”

The report notes that hardware and software combined were the next largest revenue source, but also the slowest growing. Music rights around recording and publishing grew by 14,% representing just under a fifth of the overall total.

2. The U.S., Germany & U.K. Have the Three Biggest Spotify Monthly Listener Bases for Electronic Music

This makes sense, given that these countries are also three of the world’s biggest music markets. But while Netherlands and Australia are smaller, they are multiple times higher as a share of the total population (Netherlands rate is seven times higher than the US). This means that electronic music simply has more cultural reach and impact here in these two countries.

3. Electronic Music Is Outperforming Hip-Hop In Social Follower Growth

Electronic music’s fanbase growth is happening most powerfully on social platforms, and TikTok especially. Here it’s growing 10 times faster than hip hop. TikTok launched #ElectronicMusic as its latest genre campaign in 2021 and hosted LIVE events from artists including Disclosure, BICEP and David Guetta As of March 2023, since June 2022, average daily creations for #ElectronicMusic are up 113% on the platform.

4. Music Software, Skills & Hardware Are Becoming Increasingly Valuable

Music production boomed during the pandemic, fostering more creators than ever before. And although growth slowed in 2022, revenues around software, hardware and production skills hit $6.6 billion, of which $2.8 billion was from dance producers and DJs.

5. Electronic Music Artists Represented 39% of All Festival Bookings In 2022

That’s up from 33% in 2021.

6. Female DJs Gained Traction, But 2022 Still Saw Male DJs Increase Their Share of Global Bookings

Though female DJs represented 15% of top 100 DJ bookings at festivals and other events, in 2022, this share fell from 21% in 2021. In the post-Covid return to live, male top 100 DJs saw their bookings grow 1.7 times faster than their female counterparts. Meanwhile, 67% of female artists reported feeling pressure to look good, while only 14% of male DJs reported feeling this same pressure.

7. Ibiza Came Back Big Following the Pandemic

Ibiza club ticketing revenue reached €124 million ($137 million) in 2022, up 55% from the €80 million ($88 million)registered in 2019. This growth was a result of increases in the number of events per venue, average ticket prices, and the total number of tickets sold going from two million in 2019 to 2.5 million in 2022.

8. Tech House Remains Beatport’s Leading Genre

The genre is followed in popularity by techno, house, melodic house and techno and drum and bass, dance/electropop, deep house, progressive house, indie dance, minimal/deep tech and trance. Despite the dominance of these sounds, 33% of all sales on the dance world digital download platform come from genres outside the platform’s top 10.

9. SoundCloud Is Foundational to Dance Music Culture

The platform saw a 24% growth in dance/electronic plays in 2022. The platform also hosts DJ sets, mash ups, rarities not presented on other platforms, and allows DJs and producers to connect with their fans in a way Spotify does not.

10. The Dance Scene Is In a Better Place Than It Was Pre-Pandemic

The reports states that “the dance music industry has shaken off the effects of the pandemic, coming out the other side, bigger, better, stronger and more relevant than ever.”