Electronic Music Industry Loses 54% in Value, Lowest Point in 10 Years

As expected, the electronic music industry did not do very well in 2020. In fact, the value of the global electronic music industry hit a decade low in value with a drop of 54% last year. It is an in-depth study by IMS, in partnership with Pioneer DJ and Billboard, that showed how badly the pandemic hit the industry. Precisely, the value of the global industry went from $7.3 billion in 2019 to $3.4 billion in 2020.

Obviously, lockdowns around the world because of the pandemic were the primary factor. Even though the world is slowly reopening, 2021 is expected to still be lower than most years. However, there is hope that revenue will only continue to grow in the coming years. Skiddle data showing the value of festival tickets sold in March 2021 was more than the whole of 2020 combined. The value of festival tickets sold was up 3999% in March 2021 compared to the same period last year. Let’s hope the recent wave of events cancellations will come to an end sooner than later.

The lack of live events is not the only factor behind electronic music’s decrease. Revenues of recorded dance music broke $1 billion last year but the share of electronic music within overall recorded music revenues dipped slightly to 11 percent in the US, even as the overall market grew.

Nonetheless, there are some positive numbers for the industry. Livestreaming allowed Twitch to register 1.2 million new users while Beatport benefited from a 33% growth margin. Revenues for recorded electronic music pushed past $1 billion in 2020, with global recorded revenue growing 7%. The vinyl sector experienced a 24% growth, which is massive.

For more data on the health of electronic music, you can download the full report here.

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