The electronic dance music industry has achieved a remarkable $11.8 billion valuation, according to the 2024 IMS Business Report. Reinforcing its prestige as a cultural and economic force, the global dance music business "is now firmly in its post-pandemic growth phase" after achieving 17% revenue growth in 2023, per the report. The upsurge can be attributed to EDM's universal appeal, technological integration and unparalleled ability to captivate audiences. As the genre's popularity snowballs at major events like Coachella, festivals and clubs continue to dominate revenues, ama ..read more

Imagine it's 2013. Skrillex's brostep is decimating crowds, Avicii is triggering spiritual dancefloor awakenings, a 17-year-old Martin Garrix drops "Animals" and the retina-searing lasers of Ultra are changing eyeballs forever. While that EDM serotonin rush still remains, the industry looks different over a decade later, when its consumers often prioritize the intimate, walk-on-air euphoria of a dark warehouse rave over the regurgitated frills of a major festival. From a cultural standpoint, the chasm between those two formats keeps growing—but for its artists, the road between the two is pave ..read more

Amid the era of AI, when technology's rapid evolution often blurs the lines between enhancement and infringement, over 200 artists have banded together in an unprecedented plea for respect and responsibility.  The Artist Rights Alliance has published a scathing open letter, titled "Stop Devaluing Music," to issue a timely rebuke of AI developers in the music industry. In a clarion call for action, the petition urges tech companies to pledge against releasing generative music tools and technologies that could diminish the human artistry of songwriters and producers. "Make no mistake ..read more

Fame is often synonymous with visibility, but Johan Röhr has become one of the streaming era's most illustrious shadows. Orchestrating a Spotify discography that outperforms the highest echelons of pop royalty without ever stepping into the spotlight, this Stockholm symphonist has been identified as the mastermind behind over 650 artist aliases on Spotify. Röhr's compositions have amassed a staggering 15 billion streams, according to The Guardian. Röhr's prolific output includes over 2,700 songs. His music, a mainstay on Spotify’s mood-centric playlists, serves as the unseen backdrop to millio ..read more

A new report, which arose from research by the Musicians' Union and the charitable organization Help Musicians, shines a light on the plight of women working in the music industry in 2024. Over 2,500 female musicians were surveyed in the "Women Musicians Insight Report," which suggests that work-related abuse and financial disparities significantly impede the career advancement of women in the music industry. The study found that half of women have experienced gender discrimination and a third have been sexually harassed. Another finding in the study correlated women's age and visibi ..read more

After taking a stand against streaming inequities for artists in today's streaming landscape, James Blake is taking his passion a step further after announcing the launch of Vault, a new platform to share unreleased music with fans via a subscription service.  Vault, Blake says, is a platform for artists to "make money directly from the music they make" by enabling them to cut out intermediaries and avoid contracts that often prevent them from releasing their music. It's also a workaround to record labels who take the lion's share of royalties of songs and social media platforms ..read more

Miami's iconic Ultra is proof that music festivals do a lot more than provide entertainment for fans. As the 25th anniversary of Ultra Music Festival looms in 2025, the event remains a pillar of Miami's economy, providing an annual economic boon rivaled by few. The city's mayor, Francis Suarez, stated that over Ultra's 24-year tenure, the fest has generated over $1 billion in revenue for the city. That includes the impact to nearby restaurants, boutiques and other retail and service industry businesses. The 2023 Ultra Music Festival. Alive Coverage "For a festival, it’s almost been h ..read more

Meta Quest gamers are experiencing a whole new level of "Digital Love" after Daft Punk's music joined the illusory realms of Beat Saber. From the iconic vocals of "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger" to the ageless melodies of "One More Time," Daft Punk have finally sliced their way into the beloved VR rhythm game. The legendary robots were "hands-down one of the most requested artists from fans to add to the Beat Saber lineup," per Meta. The ambitious effort to activate Daft Punk in Beat Saber took over two years, according to Vickie Nauman, founder of the Los Angeles-based consultancy and ..read more

Musicians may soon get a long-awaited raise at the expense of streaming services. In an effort led by representatives Rashida Tlaib and Jamaal Bowman, the United Musicians and Allied Workers (UMAW) have proposed the Living Wage for Musicians Act to Congress. The bill would help ensure that artists are able to build a successful career in the tumultuous age of digital music streaming, according to its authors. "Streaming has changed the music industry, but it's leaving countless artists struggling to make ends meet behind," Tlaib said in a statement. "It's only right that the people who cr ..read more

TikTok has been dealt another blow after the National Music Publishers Association sent a letter to its members informing them that the organization does "not anticipate" to renew its licensing deal, Billboard reports. That means a lot more music may disappear from TikTok after millions of songs were removed when Universal Music Group severed ties with the social media giant following a contentious contract dispute. The NMPA, the largest music publishing trade body in the nation, now plans to follow suit. "Recently, the press has highlighted concerns around TikTok's licensing practic ..read more