EDM white paper to be unveiled at EMC

The US$6.2 billion electronic dance music sector is both a digital and global phenomenon, according to a new discussion paper called The EDM Guide: Technology, Culture, Curation.

It will be unveiled by its founder, NestaMusic’s Robby Towns, at his session at Sydney’s Electronic Music Conference (EMC) tomorrow (December 4).

Among the figures and observations in the study are:

EDM has the highest proportion of digital album sales in the US since 2006. 62% of EDM sales were sold digitally, compared to 38% on physical formats. Comparatively, the breakdown for rap is 51% digital and 49% physical, and 44% to 56% for rock. (The EDM figures also include remix albums by rock and other non-EDM acts).

EDM accounted for 15% to 20% of Billboard’s year-end Hot 100 charts in 2012 and 2013. In the ‘90s, they were hardly represented, except by the likes of L.A. Style's James Brown is Dead. In the 2000s, it began to change when tracks produced by Timbaland and David Guetta helped pushed EDM into the mainstream.

In 2014, the global EDM market is worth $6.2 billion, a rise of 38% from its $4.5 billion value in 2013.

To indicate what a global phenomenon it is, the top four Dutch DJ superstars earned a total of $75 million, compared to the $57 million from America.

The EDM live show is a totally different experience to that of a rock or rap show, more akin to that of a video game.

EDM fans tweet 1.85% more than the average Twitter user at eleven times a day. One third of the tweets are about EDM, and they are four times more likely to discuss their music listening habits.

Towns said in a statement, “I felt there was an opportunity to tell a past, present and future account of EDM during a time when the music is at its global peak in history. It is my hope that this research will serve as a catalyst for a dialogue on these areas in new and interesting ways."