This business intelligence firm’s research studied the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) fan community and found how it has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
New research by business intelligence firm Maven Road finds that the popularity of live streams has increased significantly during the pandemic, as EDM fans seek to continue enjoying and sharing music, interact with others, and remain updated on event information.
EDM is the world’s third most popular music genre. An estimated 1.5 billion people listen to it regularly (Watson, 2019), and its following continues to grow. The value of the industry is estimated at US$7.9 billion (LowTone, June 2019).
The study, “Dance Music, These Days”, identifies characteristics of Electronic Dance Music fans, highlighting the changing trends following the COVID-19 pandemic. The research covers online and offline behaviors from January to December 2020 to help prominent industry key players understand how to best approach this audience. Offline interviews were done with industry experts working at Defected Records, and a survey of 2,000+ participants from Germany, UK, US, and Mexico was used to complement online research findings.
“Our analytics team at Maven Road combined qualitative and quantitative research methods to gain a complete understanding of what characterizes Electronic Dance Music culture, both online and offline”, said Paul Herrera, COO and Co-founder at Maven Road.
Fans Prefer Live
Live Streams have become an essential aspect of EDM fans’ routines; an analysis of EDM fans’ link-sharing behavior on Twitter between 2019 to 2020 revealed that content related to live streams accounted for the highest increase across all types of content shared by users (from 8% to 30%).
Surveys conducted on EDM fans provided further insight on their viewing behavior since the start of the pandemic; 31% said they had watched live streams in real-time, while 29% reported having watched recorded live streams. The prolonged exposure to these formats has prompted fans to participate in paid live streams. Additionally, the surveys indicated that 45% of 2.018 fans have paid for live stream, and 52% will consider it in the future. Furthermore, when asked if it was worth the value, 92% said it was.
Given the rise and popularity of EDM in the previous years as well as the revenue generated by this industry, there are important opportunities for brands to connect with EDM fans. However, since this audience has an aversion to over-commercialization, it requires more than traditional marketing efforts: strategies should be thoughtful and intentional, as EDM fans often pride themselves on their underground, and cultural origins
Although fans continue to be drawn to the EDM culture and the alternative events that online platforms offer, over a year without in-person activities and experiences could impact the future of the EDM scene. Until this moment, DJs and producers have had to adapt to a new reality by creating highly engaging online rave experiences for users to enjoy. In order to recreate an in-person experience, online sets are becoming increasingly elaborate and visually stimulating.
However, surveys conducted revealed that EDM fans’ were either willing to attend live events post-pandemic or were uncertain about it. 17% of users stated they would go back to attending physical events, 12% would remain local, and 10% would travel abroad. Fans hesitant about attending in-person events mentioned they would attend fewer events than before the pandemic (17%) and would pay more attention to safety protocols (17%) or go to smaller events (13%).
“Given the rise and popularity of EDM in the previous years as well as the revenue generated by this industry, there are important opportunities for brands to connect with EDM fans. However, since this audience has an aversion to over-commercialization, it requires more than traditional marketing efforts: strategies should be thoughtful and intentional, as EDM fans often pride themselves on their underground, and cultural origins”, mentioned Paul Herrera.
