EMC to share inaugural Club Culture Census results in April
Highly anticipated at the Electronic Music Conference in Sydney is the results of the inaugural Club Culture Census.
The EMC is held on Tuesday, April 5 at the Powerhouse Museum.
The census provides data and evidence to measure the impact of key challenges faced by clubs, promoters and workers in the clubbing industry.
There’ll also be “a whole bunch of interesting and fun data measuring genre trends and cultural movements,” organisers said.
EDM was among the hardest hit of music styles during the pandemic, and you can expect the Australian EDM sector to have taken a real whack.
After all, the IMS Business Report 2021 showed that globally EDM fell by 54% to US$3.4 billion in 2020 – wiping out an entire decade’s growth.
It will be interesting to see if the Australian figures show a slide or a slow recovery.
The Australian report is expected to show growth in software and hardware as people entertained themselves during the lockdowns; the rising importance of Twitch to EDM; and techno remaining the most popular sub-genre.
It will also be fascinated if the upcoming study reflects the IMS revelation that globally, Australia and the Netherlands lead the way in music recognition technology in clubs showing the growth of transparent payments.
EMC’s theme is The Reboot, “unpacking the deep changes across the electronic and dance music industry, and rebooting in-person connections throughout our community”.
Also to be unveiled are the results of the AKAR mental wellbeing research.
EMC said it provides evidence around the extent of mental health and wellbeing challenges within the EDM sector across Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.
“The aim of the research is to de-stigmatise mental health through obtaining and sharing knowledge throughout the region, and developing a centralised resource to signpost people across these regions to assistance for supporting their mental wellbeing,” organisers said.
To consolidate the results, the ‘Beyond The Mind: COVID-19 and Mental Health’ panel will discuss pathways for a healthier industry with performer and producer Milan Ring taking the reins.
Other issues to be discussed are Web3, VR, blockchain, the booming creators economy, the emerging music tech that will provide greater equity to EDM artists and businesses, and Luude (Christian Benson) on how his team are managing his sharp global rise.
Speakers include Sweat It Out MD Jamie Raeburn, MUSIIO commercial director Mack Hampson, Paul Hillman of Proxy Agency, Flow State psychologist Rashida Dungarwalla, Support Act CEO Clive Miller, Billfold CEO Stanislav Chijik, and Cloak Entertainment talent manager Gabe Bravo.