This is evident from the annual IMS Business Report for Electronic DanceMusic. If we look at the numbers since 2012 and exclude corona, it seems thatthe EDM as a scene has matured. After years of growth, the sector peaked in2016 at 7.4 billion dollars (7.6 billion euros) and fluctuated between 7.2 and7.3 billion dollars (7.4 and 7.5 billion euros) in the following years.
Clubs & Festivals
In 2021, there were five pillars under the financial success of the EDM, forthe sake of convenience we compare with 2019, the last pre-corona year. Clubs& Festivals brought in 2.5 billion dollars (2.6 billion euros) last year,compared to 4.4 billion dollars (4.5 billion euros) in 2019.
“An explainable difference, since not all festivals were able to continue dueto corona,” says lawyer Radboud Ribbert of the international law firmGreenberg Traurig. Ribbert specializes in entertainment and intellectualproperty law and counts some top DJs among his clientele.
Music sales & streaming
The income from Music sales & streaming rose last year to 1.4 billiondollars (1.45 billion euros), 0.3 billion more than in 2019. “Streaming isclearly on the rise and you can see that in the figures of the DJs,” saysRibbert.
Software & Hardware
Software & Hardware last year also filled the wallet more than in 2019: 1.2billion dollars (1.22 billion euros) compared to 1 billion. Ribbert: “EDM ismade with computers, so the software and hardware continue to develop.”
Due to the influence of corona, we see that live streaming and the softwarefor it have developed in 2021 and brought more money to the companies in theEDM industry that provide this.
Income for artists
We don’t have to feel sorry for the EDM DJs who travel the world, yet theystill felt corona well last year. Revenues for artists and DJs topped lastyear at 0.7 billion dollars (0.72 billion euros). By way of comparison, in2019 they jointly raked in 1.1 billion dollars (1.13 billion euros).
educations
A new branch of the EDM money tree is Training, good for 0.2 billion dollars(0.21 billion euros) in 2021. “Think of DJ training and other education. Agood development, especially for the Dutch scene, which produces fewer andfewer young top DJs,” explains Ribbert.
Dutch share
The Netherlands and EDM are often mentioned in the same breath. ‘Our’ top DJstraditionally score well in the annual DJ Mag Top 100 and the Dutch dancelabel Spinnin was bought by big brother Warner in 2017 for 100 million euros.
How is the Dutch scene doing financially? Figures for 2021 are not yetavailable, because Buma Cultuur will only announce the musical export value atthe beginning of January during ESNS.
However, we have seen the Dutch share slowly decline since 2016. BumaCultuur’s figures relate to income from performances and via dance labels,equivalent to DJs & artists income and Sell music & streaming from theglobal IMS Business Report.
Huge achievement
Dutch DJs accounted for 143 million, 158 million and 154 million euros in2017, 2018 and 2019 respectively. If we correct this for the dollar exchangerate at the time, we arrive at a market share of 10 percent in 2017, 9 in 2019and 8.5 percent in 2019.
“It is in itself annoying that the Dutch market share is falling, but withglobal growth and with it the emergence of talent from other countries, asmaller market share is logical,” says Richard Zijlma, director of theAmsterdam Dance Event from 2000 to 2018. “The fact that we are doing so wellis already a huge achievement for the Netherlands.”
Talent development
Like Radboud Ribbert, Zijlma signals that the breakthrough of Dutch top DJs isstagnating, something that can also be seen in the DJ Mag Top 100, where noyoung compatriot has been featured in the top 10 since Martin Garrix’sbreakthrough in 2014.
“The share of Dutch DJs is slowly decreasing. The industry now really needs todevelop talent legacy to care. If the current top DJs stop, there must be anew generation to take over,” says Zijlma.
Ribbert agrees with Zijlma’s words. “Our current top DJs Tiesto, Armin vanBuuren, Afrojack and Martin Garrix have the quality to continue to scoreworldwide. Only there is too little growth of new talent. The Dutch industrywould do well to focus on that in the coming period. It went without sayingfor years, now gas has to be added.”