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Millennials drive “healthy, successful” EDM mkt

The value of the dance music industry grew 3% last year, with gen Y-ers fuelling the market for DJ events and club shows

By Jon Chapple on 24 May 2017

Kevin Watson, Danceonomics, IMS Ibiza 2017

Kevin Wilson presents the report at IMS Ibiza today


Electronic music conference International Music Summit (IMS) today released the 2017 edition of its annual IMS Business Report, which reveals that dance music shows are overwhelming the live music events of choice for generation Y.

The report, researched and compiled, as in 2016, by Danceonomics’ Kevin Watson, finds that while live concerts with one headliner are the biggest draw for the US general population, club shows – and, to a lesser extent, intimate concerts – are especially popular among millennials, with that age group attending 36–39% more dance events with live DJs:IMS Business Report 2017

The report also spotlights the “huge growth” in electronic dance music (EDM) in Latin America; the acquisition or launch by fast-growing UK outfit Global of three dance music festivals (South West Four, Snowbombing Canada and Hideout); and the pioneering use of new technologies, including VR, live streaming and chatbots/AI, by several high-profile DJs and clubs.

As a whole, the value of the industry is up 3%, to US$7.4 billion, in what IMS calls an indicator of a “healthy and successful industry”.

But it’s not all good news: Gender diversity, says IMS, remains “a key issue” after analysis by Thump revealed that of 24 of the biggest EDM festivals in 2016, an average of just 17% of performers were female.

Better than some rock festivals, at least…

 


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