The International Music Summit (IMS) is held every year in the sunny party hotspot of Ibiza. It’s become one of the key global platforms for everything related to the music industry, especially the worlds of electronic and dance music. Here, artists, industry professionals and brands all come together to unveil their plans for the year ahead and discuss the future of the scene and the most pressing issues in the industry.
One of the key things to come out of the expo each year is the IMS Business Report, produced in collaboration with MIDiA Research – which offers us a comprehensive snapshot of the global electronic music industry and how things are looking for the year ahead. It covers everything from revenue trends through to genre shifts and changes in fan behaviour – all super important stuff to know, whether you’re working in the industry or just a DJ looking to stay on top of how the dance music world’s changing.
And this report does come at a time when things are changing seemingly faster than ever. We’re already seeing the pace of trends coming and going just ramping up thanks to social media, and music technology is moving at a speed that can be hard to keep up with sometimes. So, to save you all diving into the full thing, we’ve dug into some of the key takeaways from this year’s report and what they might mean for DJs like you.
If you want to check out thre full report from IMS, download the full document on their website.
The Global Music Industry and the Rise of Electronic Music
The global recorded music industry (not live music etc.) pulled in a whopping $34 billion in 2024. This certainly sounds like a lot but while the numbers are still rising, crucially the rate of growth is slowing down. After bouncing back hard in 2023 with 10% growth, last year saw that drop to just 6%. Streaming is still unsurprisingly by far the biggest part of this revenue, and physical sales of things like vinyl are beginning to slow down after years of promising sales.
Right now, a key thing to look at isn’t just that the music market is growing, it’s where that growth is coming from – and things are looking increasingly global. Streaming subscriber growth is exploding in the Global South – markets like India, Brazil, and parts of Africa. In fact, nearly 80% of all new subscribers in 2024 came from these regions. This big movement is no doubt going to begin to increasingly reflect in a cultural shift towards music and sounds prominent in these areas making a bigger impact on the global stage.
As well as all the big picture music industry changes, one thing that’s clear is that electronic music is thriving. The genre now pulls in $12.9 billion globally and is gaining fans faster than ever. In 2024 alone, it picked up 566 million new followers across Spotify, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram and Facebook. It’s now one of the top two most-followed genres in key markets like Mexico, the UK, Germany and the Netherlands.
Scene & Genre Shifts DJs Should Know
One of the most interesting things to come out of each year’s IMS report is seeing how the world’s music tastes are adapting and what genres are coming into prominence or falling out of favour. The big winners this year were African genres like Amapiano, Afro House and Afrobeat, reflecting the big industry boom on the continent.
UK Genres of Jungle, Garage and Drum & Bass also all grew, with a 100% increase in Garage uploads to Soundcloud in the last year and DnB jumping to 3rd place in the Beatport genre ranking.
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There was also a trend towards some high-intensity sounds with Hard Dance and Hardcore also gaining ground compared to previous years. On the flip side, the appetite for Chillout and Ambient genres is trending down. This shift towards high-energy hard sounds and away from chilled-out vibes may reflect the bigger picture sentiment of how the world is feeling and what dancers are craving right now.
SoundCloud and social media platforms, especially TikTok, are a big part of how these genre trends are happening. For DJs, this means staying relevant is less about digging through crates and more about being in tune with what’s trending digitally. In 2025, keeping a close eye on what’s happening online is more important for staying ahead of the curve.
Fan Culture, Community & Live Performance
Electronic music, even more than most other genres, has always been about much more than just the music. It’s all about the scene, culture and even lifestyle around it – things that are super important to listeners. And the data backs this up – with electronic music fans some of the most engaged in the whole industry.
They, more than fans of other genres, will spend more on music, merch and gigs, and they’re more likely to tie their identity to the scene. Around 68% of them say they feel part of something others “don’t get” – which highlights just how personal and tribal dance music can be.
This commitment translates into live events as well. Live music generally has now stabilised at over twice its pre-pandemic numbers, and electronic events are right at the heart of that.
The downside of this trend is that it’s not all been equal across the board. The higher end of the market, with big-name DJs and high-ticket price events, is what’s doing most of the growth and is behind the bigger picture positive outlook. In fact, the big driver of growth is the ticket price rather than the number of tickets sold. At the same time, though, smaller venues were struggling much more with closures and less willingness to spend on smaller events from many gig-goers.
Gender Balance in DJing
The gender gap in DJing has long been one of the biggest issues blighting the industry but there’s a glimmer of hope that it could be closing up. One clear indicator is from AlphaTheta (formerly Pioneer DJ), the biggest name in the DJ gear world. Their data shows a steady rise in the number of female DJs, year-on-year.
Hopefully, this will continue to improve until we’re at equal parity. We’re already seeing a great wave of new, exciting young female DJs like SHERELLE and Nia Archives push the boundary and the increasing visibility of women across lineups, online conten,t and music charts is fantastic – although there’s still a lot of progress to be made.
What DJs Should Do Next
It’s clear that electronic music is having a big moment and is evolving rapidly to adjust to its fans’ changing tastes. The continuing trend towards large artists getting a bigger and bigger slice of the pie is unfortunate news for smaller DJs trying to make it in a competitive world. Of course, there are still loads of opportunities out there, but DJs may need to be creative with making more of a community and following for themselves.
Another big takeaway is that DJs in the western world should probably take note of what’s happening throughout the globe. It’s always a good idea to discover new music all the time, and throw in some international sounds into your collection.
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