The value of the electronic music business is estimated to drop by 56% to $3.3 billion (£2.6bn) due to the impact of Covid-19.
Released today (July 16), the latest IMS Business Report, authored by data analyst Kevin Watson, said the industry would be "severely affected" as a result of the pandemic. It predicted clubs and festivals could lose 75% of their income this year, with DJ and artist income expected to plummet from $1.1bn to $400 million, a year-on-year dip of 61%.
By April, around 350 electronic festivals had been cancelled or postponed, leaving 8.9m fans unable to attend scheduled events
The overall industry valuation actually increased by 1% to $7.3bn in 2019/20 after dipping by the same 1% margin in the previous year. Ibiza clubbers spent €260m in 2019, with more than two million club tickets sold.
And despite electronic music falling two places to be the world’s fifth most popular genre, according to the IFPI, earnings of the genre's Top 10 artists increased 4% year on year to $273m.
Further positive news came in the form of livestreaming, with seven of the 10 most watched music streams on Twitch in Mayb being electronic music-focused, totalling 6m viewer hours.
Having grown 60% in just three years during the boom years of the early 2010s, EDM's growth slowed to 3% by 2017 and declined by 2% the following year.
The annual report is traditionally unveiled at the IMS Ibiza electronic music conference, which traditionally takes place in May but was cancelled this year due to the pandemic.
Dance music executives recently spoke to Music Week about the impact of the summer shutdown in Ibiza.
