According to the Ibiza International Music Summit (IMS) business report, Electronic dance music is earning $4.5bn (£2.9bn) in global revenues per year.
The data presented at last year’s Ibiza IMS showed that annual revenue from Las Vegas shows alone now contributes $600m. Global Dance Music Industry grew 71% In 2021. In 2019 , the top DJs in the world made $358,500,000 collectively according to Statista. All 17 of them share similarities in gender and genre; they are all males and they all play EDM or variations of house music.
“DJ and artists earnings were up $400 million — that’s 111% — over 2020, largely due to the return to live music and shows in 2021.”
-The annual IMS Business Report presented as part of the IMS Ibiza conference, a coming together of the global dance music industry.
One thing the conference didn’t tackle was the role women are playing in advancing EDM and the earning disparities for people of color in the lucrative industry. Like the top paid men, most of the leading women in EDM are either white or asian. They hail from South Korea, Australia and Europe and bank millions more compared to the leading hip hop, reggae or dancehall DJs.
DJ Mandy for example after 5 years in the business will be playing both weekends of the Tomorrowland Festival. She hails from Belgium and is considered the 7th highest paid female DJ the world. Her earnings surpass many seasoned dancehall DJs and she has reportedly amassed a net-worth in the millions
One top paid DJ and artist who stay close to Jamaica is Diplo (and the Major Laser crew) and have been involved in Jamaica’s EDM development.
Diplo sits between No. 5 and No. 7 highest earning DJs for the last 4 years but there are no black acts, neither is there any dancehall or Jamaican DJs on that top earning list, even though the report boast of improvement in diversity. The report found that representation and demand for people of color in the “DJ Mag Top 100” — an annual ranking of the world’s 100 most popular electronic artists — grew in 2021.
Dream Entertainment Organizer and EDM DJ Kamal Bankay has been making a name for himself in the EDM circles. He celebrates his inclusion in this year’s Tomorrowland Festival for the first time via his instagram in disbelief and sees it as a dream come true. “If you had told me that one day I would be invited to play at the biggest #edm festival in the world, @tomorrowland, I would have questioned your sanity…,” he posted.
He further stated, “I’ve been to #edc & #ultramusicfestival thinking and dreaming of one day performing at something even half that size but this?!?? 🤯 Today marks the day that dreams have become reality…”
Kamal hopes to represent for his culture and Jamaica but hopefully he paves the way for other EDM DJs from his home base like DJ Anash who currently plays gigs in and around Kingston. Anash says she is ready for the big time but for now she can be found on Wednesday nights at Jangas Bar bringing the vibe for midweek crowds who want to take the tempo up a notch over a cold beer.
As Anash prepares to play for her Tomorrowland opportunity , she told the Jamaica Gleaner that, “EDM feels like it’s taking me on a journey, meanwhile Afrohouse music, the combination of the drums, the bass, the build-up, it’s the suspense that gets the crowd moving, and of course, I love the music of my home, reggae, the old and new I’ve listened to over the years, it’s the sweetest thing. I just love good music that makes me feel good.”
I have been to DJ Anash‘s show, and its safe to say her skills as an EDM DJ along with her fresh knowledge of Afro-house music, techno music, house, dub, trance, bass and drums puts her on the way to the big leagues. Currently Anash as the example of the highest paid EDM DJ, Paris Hilton, who commands US$1 million per gig whether or not she is mixing the music herself is besides the point.
A few “Best DJ awards” later, Paris told Variety in December that being dismissed by publications for exploring her DJ talents is a thing she has come to ignore and that she is now fully comfortable with her career pivot. “If I’m being completely honest, I think a lot of that anxiety, that initial baggage, for me, is no longer there,” she says. “I feel comfortable in this world now, having been recognized for the work I’ve put into it my career, whether that be through the awards I’ve received or just the people, the energy I get when I’m on.”
With marketability female DJ’s can guarantee high ticket sales. Paris for example is able to bring in huge audiences due to her fame from reality TV and her other brands plus she has a whopping 22 million people following her on instagram alone. She has also developed her ability to mix music but people are hardly coming to hear the latest Paris mix.
EDM twins Nervo, are also among the highest paid with gigs set for Ultra Dubai, they share headline with the top male DJs such as Calvin Harris, Skrillex and more.
The Afro-EDM-Dancehall DJ
No Dancehall DJ come close to the type of earnings available for EDM and House DJs but dancehall is one of the original forms of electronic dance music.
In Jamaica, events like Colour Fest, Electric Butterfly Music Festival, have not been held since before the pandemic and the Paradise Lost Festival was earmarked to generate billions but have not managed to stage an event in a couple years.
A trip to Las Vegas or club in Dubai last year would have been met with Major Lazer EDM originals and remixes such as Vybz Kartel ‘Pon Di Floor’ that was in turn was sampled by Beyoncé for ‘Run The World’. They also did Busy Signal’s Bumaye.
Damian Marley’s Make It Bun Dem featuring Skrillix and Sean Paul’s One Wine and Come On To Me, add to the modern dancehall-EDM catalogue.
Charly Black and Gyptian have also found success with EDM, via both remixes and original tracks.
“Party Animal”, Bumaye and just about any Sean Paul EDM mixed hit can be heard at NBA basketball games all across the US.
Billboard.com tells the story of how EDM is as Jamaican as Ackee And Saltfish. One which suggests that the success of the top EDM DJs and the adjoining events are actually the offspring of Jamaican engineer King Tubby and his pioneering work.
“EDM DJs who dissect and otherwise manipulate their tracks while playing live, are following an innovation established by the brilliant Jamaican engineer, sound system owner-selector, the late King Tubby (born Osbourne Ruddock). While working as a disc cutter for Duke Reid and using a two-track recording console, Tubby eliminated vocal and instrumental segments, sometimes stripping a song down to a single thunderous bass line – which he embellished with echo and reverb effects – in a process called dub. Because of his expertise with electronics, Tubby was able to recreate the dub effects live on his sound system, something no one had ever heard, making his set the most popular of the early 70s,” Billboard reported.
