Vale Guitars: EDM Australia's Favourite Genre

Australians are dancing to a different beat, shaking off the image of guitar-based pub rock as EDM becomes the largest genre in the land.

According to the IMS Business Report released overnight, Australia is the largest consumer of dance music as a percentage of its population. The stat is created on an aggregate number of monthly Spotify listeners, with only the Netherlands coming close to Australia’s EDM taste.

Electronic was the clear winner, beating out hip hop at #2 and rock close behind at #3 in the battle of the genres, defying Australia’s image as a rock territory.

The numbers mirror what we’re seeing in Australian music. Last year’s annual Australian artists ARIA Singles Chart had less than 30% of titles released in the last two years, but of those, every entry (aside from Royel Otis’ two covers) was either EDM or hip hop.

The genre continued to gain pace globally, with EDM artists’ followings outpacing rock artists across YouTube, Facebook, TikTok and Instagram, although rock artists had the edge on Spotify, perhaps pointing to the relative youth of the sector compared to the history of rock artists more generally.

The entire value of the global electronic music sector also increased to $12.9 billion, pointing to a lucrative global marketplace for Australia’s biggest new artists, including the likes of Dom Dolla, Rufus Du Sol, Cyril, Fisher and Sonny Fodera.

The recent Coachella lineup featured dance and electronic artists, comprising 39% of the lineup, the largest share of any genre for the traditionally indie rock-based event, indicating a cultural tipping point in music. Here in Australia, the continued success of events like Beyond The Valley, Pitch, Strawberry Fields, and the shift in genres for events like Laneway also flag the changing tastes of Australians.

For those looking for trends within trends, the report suggests that the biggest gains are coming from sub-genres such as Afro-house and drum & bass, while tech house and house remain the largest overall sub-genres. A new entrant to watch in this year’s top ten subgenres is raw/deep/hypnotic techno, although with ambient and chillout losing ground, this could be a shifting of trends across mood-based playlisting.

The report also surveyed global EDM fans, showing that being part of the scene enabled real-life connections and meeting like-minded people, creating spaces where fans can “be themselves”.

The parallels to other music-based communities, whether that be metal, country or even the Aussie pub scene of the 80s, show that music is still a core community driver, which continues to prove its importance, even in (and perhaps even more important in) an age of online interaction and social media.

It that’s not enough nerdy stats for you, you can download the full IMS report here.