Dance music industry valued at $11.8 billion, IMS Business Report reveals

The 2024 IMS Business Report reveals that the dance music industry is now worth $11.8 billion, marking a 17% increase over the past year.

Unveiled at the International Music Summit’s Ibiza conference, the report, authored by Mark Mulligan of MiDIA Research, estimates the electronic music industry's value at $11.8 billion. This figure represents a significant rise from $10.1 billion in 2022 and $7.5 billion in 2021.

The report highlights that dance music is “now firmly in its post-pandemic growth phase,” with festivals and clubs generating nearly half of the industry’s revenue in 2023. Music hardware and software accounted for the second-largest revenue share, at approximately 25 percent.

Leading labels, publishers, digital service providers (DSPs) and live event companies collectively saw an average growth of 18% in 2023. Live events experienced the highest growth rate at 35%, followed by DSPs such as Spotify and Apple Music, which grew by 16%.

The notion that electronic dance music is becoming mainstream is well-supported by the data. Although it has a smaller fanbase compared to rock, Latin, and hip-hop, electronic music was the fastest-growing genre on streaming and social media platforms in 2023.

The IMS report also underscores the rising influence of independent labels. While major labels still dominate market share, they have lost some ground to “newer, future-focused labels.” Independents outpaced majors in growth, expanding their market share by an average of 31% each quarter.

Germany, the U.S., Australia and the UK remain the top markets for electronic music listeners on Spotify. However, the report highlights a surge in electronic music’s popularity in South Africa, reflecting the country’s burgeoning electronic music scenes and culture.

In South Africa, monthly electronic music listeners on Spotify nearly double the country’s population. Afro house saw a notable rise on Beatport, climbing from No. 18 in 2022 to No. 9 by the end of 2023. House and techno continue to dominate, holding the No. 1 and No. 2 spots, respectively.

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.

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%.

To explore the full 2024 IMS Business Report, download it here.