Kevin Watson presented the 2018 IMS Business Report at this year’s International Music Summit in Ibiza on Wednesday, May 23rd. For the first time in the history of the series, the global electronic music industry is estimated to have decreased in annual value.
Watson factors four different categories of electronic music revenue into the figure: hardware and software, festivals and clubs, DJ earnings, and recorded music. Last year he estimated the value of the 2016 sum to be $7.4 billion, but the 2018 report approximates the 2017 ammount at $7.3 billion (a 2% decrease).
According to previous IMS Business Reports, electronic music saw its most substantial worldwide growth between 2012 and 2013, increasing from $4.5 billion to $6.2 billion. As music events have historically occupied the largest proportion of the total, the North American festival boom likely contributed more than any other factor.
The report speculates that the mainstream crossover of electronic music may have rendered much of the industry’s 2017 value “immeasurable.” For instance, dance music tracks being classified under genres like “pop” and “R&B” or DJs playing mainstream festivals could have skewed the numbers.
The 2018 IMS Business Report also includes data specific to recorded music, broadcasting, DJ earnings and more. Read the presentation in its entirety here.
Source: Digital Music News
