Just 20% of creators make a living from dance music, despite industry growing by 34% in 2022

Just 20% of creators made a living from dance music in 2022, despite a huge industry growth of 34% - the annual IMS Business Report has revealed.

The report, which was unveiled at the International Music Summit (IMS) at Destino Pacha, Ibiza yesterday (Wednesday, 26 April), revealed that the dance music industry had a valuation of $11.3 billion in 2022, an increase of 34% from 2021 and a 16% increase on pre-pandemic levels.

Despite this, just 20% of dance music creators solely make a living from music — while 35% have dance music as part of their income. 45% reported making "zero" income from dance music.

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The report also revealed that the value of music publishing in dance music had risen by 17% in 2022, but streaming remained the big hitter in the industry — with a valuation of $20 billion in 2022.

Spotify had the highest market share, but of just 30% — with dance music audiences using a number of platforms to listen to music.

Despite this, dance music's share on streaming platforms remains dwarfed by hip hop, which on average is listened to 2.5 times more by users. However, on TikTok and YouTube, dance music has a far higher follower share — 3.5 times that of hip hop.

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Alarmingly, the report also revealed that despite an increase in bookings for electronic acts across the board — the number of female DJs getting hired for festivals and other events is just 15%, down from 21% in 2022. While women saw a 199% increase in bookings, male DJs saw an increase of 344%.

Tech house remains the most popular genre of dance music, according to statistics from Beatport shared in the IMS Business Report, with trance falling out of the top 10 — however, 33% of users listen mostly to music which is outside of the 10 biggest selling genres.

Mixmag is set to host a special Lab at the International Music Summit (IMS) at Destino Pacha, Ibiza tomorrow. For more details and guest list, click here.

Megan Townsend is Mixmag's Deputy Editor, follow her on Twitter