Published
Mon, May 2, 2022, 21:20
- The return of live events pushed the industry's valuation to $6 billion last year, versus $3.4 billion in 2020, according to the International Music Summit's annual report.
A new report by the International Music Summit (IMS) indicates the global electronic music business is recovering from the pandemic’s financial fallout.
After losing 54 percent of its value in 2020, the industry grew 71 percent in 2021 to reach a valuation of $6 billion. While that number is well above the $3.4 billion valuation in 2020, it still falls short of 2019's level of $7.3 billion. Overall, IMS expects the pace of growth to continue, noting the possibility for the industry to eventually surpasses its 2019 figure.
The resurgence of live events, including club nights and festivals, has bolstered the industry. The combined value of live events increased 166 percent last year to a total worth of $2.5 billion after declining $3.4 billion in value the previous year. "Club ticket sales are at 126 percent of 2019 levels while festival ticket sales are at 176 percent of 2019 levels," the report stated. Artist earnings, meanwhile, saw a 111 percent increase compared to a 68 percent drop in 2020.
The recorded music market also bounced back, clocking an 18 percent rise from 2020. Physical sales returned to growth for the first time in two decades, with vinyl purchases soaring 51 percent and CD sales up nine percent. While the digital downloads market declined 15.3 percent, online store Beatport achieved 13 percent growth. Streaming was up 24 percent on-year but the report warned that only "a tiny number of artists" are benefitting. Only 1,650 artists earn at least $65,000 from streaming, it said, noting that this figure doesn't include payouts to collaborators.
The report also found that artists tapped into new sources of income in 2021, with more DJs and producers exploring TikTok, the metaverse and NFTs. Electronic artists accounted for 64 percent of total music NFT sales, totaling $55.4 million. Another area of new growth was electronic music education, which hit an estimated value of $207 million in 2021. Patreon accounts, for example, earned artists a total of $248,000.
Despite the positive outlook, the industry still has a long way to go in terms of elevating Black artists. Using DJ Mag's ranking of top DJs as a barometer, the report found that representation and demand for artists of color grew in 2021 but certain countries like France and Spain actually saw lower demand for Black artists. A detailed analysis of Black representation on lineups revealed a significant spike in bookings of Black artists in the US and France in 2020 followed by a steady decline. The research was conducted by Technomaterialism, a platform formed by Black writers, musicians and club workers.
In other findings, tech house overtook techno as the highest-selling genre on Beatport. House music ranked third on the list while the South African genre amapiano "exploded globally" last year, the report stated.
Read the full report here.
