Electronic Music Awards heads to Asia

The global Electronic Music Awards will be staged in Singapore in December, indicating how important the region’s fast growing EDM scene is seen by the international EDM industry.

The Singapore Government is working at establishing that country as the centreof Asia Pacific’s EDM.

The awards are globally-themed, celebrating the achievement of Asian and international DJs through 21 categories decided by public voting. These include Best DJ, Best Remix, Best Event and Best Social Media Campaign. There will be 12 live sets through the two-hour ceremony.

The event is staged by GroupM, the world’s largest media investment company, and Dancestar Ventures. It is Dancestar’s first event in over ten years. Just like the 2004 festivities in Miami, the Electronic Music Awards Show will be televised in key markets worldwide.

Dancestar founder and CEO Andy Ruffell stated: “We are developing the Dancestar Awards Show platform as a series of market specific televised events in Las Vegas, London and Singapore. GroupM provide unrivaled expertise that will enable us to bring electronic music culture and global brands together on TV.” He noted that with the EDM global industry worth $4 billion, Asia was primed to explode.

Josh Black, CEO of GroupM Content APAC, added: “Our team at GroupM Content will be helping Dancestar, drive a range of commercial opportunities from partnerships through to licensing, broadcast and content distribution.”

It is expected that Australia will also receive the televised event as it is seen as integral to the regional EDM scene. Last December the International Music Summit was held in Singapore for the first time, and invited many Australian EDM executives and artists to speak.

At the Summit, IMS analyst Kevin Watson put the value of the Asian Pacific EDM sector at $950 million. The figure is made up of $515 million from revenues from clubs and festivals, $350 million from record sales and streaming, and $25 million from “other” sources as DJ earnings and software sales.

That gives the Asia Pacific sector 15% of the $6.2 billon value of the global EDM industry. Watson pointed out that many Asia-Pacific clubs are ranked in DJ Mag's Top 100 Clubs and some of its festivals including Sunburn Goa are as big as Europe’s Tomorrowland. The region also has the fastest growing social media following in the world.

Sandy Monteiro, President, of Universal Music Group, South East Asia, proclaimed, "Asia is at a tipping point for an EDM explosion. The genre is the driving beat behind pop music and product sales. The top five countries for Universal Music streams in the Asia-Pacific region are Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia.”

At an artist panel, Australian DJ duo Nervo (pictured) said that 25% of their gigs were in the Asia Pacific region, and expected that figure to grow. Watson summed up the region’s dance music potential: "If penetration in India reached just half the USA's, it would be equivalent to 18 new festivals the size of Tomorrowland."

Tomorrowland, held over three days in late July in Belgium books 400 DJs and draws 185,000 people from 75 countries. Two million people are on the waiting list, and tickets disappear in 24 hours.