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Ultra Music Festival

A new business report presented at IMS Engage this week found that the North American electronic music industry is worth approximately $1.9 billion.

Accounting for revenue drawn from music sales and streams, festival and club income, and other sources including platforms like Soundcloud and DJ technology sales, the figure represents approximately 30 percent of the estimated global industry value of $6.2 billion.

Authored by Kevin Watson of Danceonomics, the study draws upon numerous reports to provide a comprehensive overview of the dance industry’s rising music consumption, DJ fees and social media followings, and live event revenue.

Analyzing Nielsen data, the study found that dance track sales equaled an all-time high of 4.6 percent share in 2014, representing a 1.5x increase from its 2011 level. The report also found that dance music represents the fourth most popular genre for North American streams after R&B/hip-hop, rock and pop, accounting for 7 percent of all US streaming and 10 percent of Canadian.

The report cites an Eventbrite study which found that electronic music events account for a quarter of all nightlife tickets sold in the US. Further, the twelve largest US electronic music clubs, including the likes of XS, Hakkasan, Marquee and LIV, accounted for more than half a billion dollars in revenue in 2014.

While US festival growth held steady at a 1.4 million capacity point with Ultra Music Festival switching back to one weekend, Canada now accounts for a 400,000 capacity point. Cited research suggests that US electronic music fans are 13 percent more likely than average to attend a festival.

The full report is available for download at Danceonomics.com. [Billboard]