Tech-house has overtaken techno as most popular electronic music genre
An IMS business report reveals that the genre became the best-selling on Beatport last year
According to a newly released business report presented today at Ibiza’s International Music Summit (IMS), tech-house has overtaken techno as the most popular electronic genre.
The report stated that the genre shot past the previous favourite in Beatport sales in 2021, marking it the new best-seller.
After holding second place for the past two years, tech-house has officially climbed one space up the rankings, while house music stays in the third spot, and techno moves down to second place.
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According to the same report, which spans everything from sales and shares in music to demand and challenges in the music industry, amapiano has seen a rise this past year, “exploding globally” in 2021.
The business report revealed that despite its growth, only three amapiano tracks of 80 added to an official Spotify playlist were signed to major labels. The genre has circumvented most countries, with high search rates in the US, UK, and Germany.
The IMS report also shows evidence in the growth of electronic music festivals and clubs, previously valued at $2.5 billion in 2020, up by 166% in 2021 - a whopping $1.6 billion.
“The industry is buzzing. I heard tons of excitement in my interviews with artists, promoters, agents and labels in the last month. Partly because, as predicted last year, electronic music is back once again,” said the report’s author, David Boyle.
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“Led by market share gains in the UK and Germany, we found growth in 16 countries as the joy and energy of electronic music soundtracks the world's post-pandemic recovery.”
Explored elsewhere, DJ software and hardware went up in value by 14% in 2021 to $1.2 billion, while, for the first time in some 20 years, physical sales returned to growth.
Vinyl sales were up an enormous 51% in 2021, while CD sales saw a 9% rise - having clawed back growth for the first time in 17 years.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Editorial Assistant, follow her on Twitter