IMS electronic music business report 2025/6

It’s that time of year again for the definitive annual assessment of the global electronic music market: The IMS electronic music business report. Premiered at the annual IMS conference in Ibiza, this year’s report paints the picture of a healthy industry with thriving scenes but also a few warning signs to pay attention to.

Total electronic music industry revenue (encompassing recordings, publishing, DSPs, festivals and clubs, creator tools, merch, sponsorships, brands) was up 7% in 2025 to reach $15.1 billion. Though all sub-segments were up, some fared better than others, most notably publishing, merch, and DSPs.

Here are the key dynamics underpinning that growth:

Fandom: This revenue growth was underpinned by strong upward momentum across consumption, fandom, and scenes. 0.6 billion fans were added across Spotify, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. Spotify electronic music monthly listeners grew 11% across the top markets, with Germany, Australia, and the Netherlands each having five times more cumulative listeners than their respective total populations! Meanwhile, electronic music creations on TikTok were up 50% and SoundCloud DJ set uploads increased by 39%.

Subcultures and scenes: While the wider music industry has spent the last few years leaning more into fandom and scenes, these two ingredients have always been the joint beating hearts of electronic music. Electronic music is shaped by a rich tapestry of subcultures, every bit as important as the bigger genres. For example, electronic subgenres: #SpeedGarage, #Garage, and #Techno grew at roughly double the rate of mainstream categories on TikTok.

Global South rising: The growing role of the Global South – something we have written about extensively at MIDiA over the years – is now a true cultural force in electronic music. Afro house was the 7th most downloaded genre on Beatport, and the 2nd most searched-for genre on Splice in 2025, up from 10th in 2023. For the Global South’s cultural impact look no further than the top four scenes on SoundCloud: Indonesian breakbeat, Vinahouse, South Korean EDM, and Colombian guaracha.

Investment: The industry’s positive trajectory has been attracting plenty of external interest, not least from catalogue acquirers. 18% of publicly announced catalogue deals in 2025 were for electronic music artists, and in Q1 2026 alone there were 17 more deals.

There are, however, a couple of potential market challenges – not flashing red lights but perhaps amber ones: electronic music is not generating as many hits; it lost a small share of festival line ups; Ibiza clubs generated more revenue but across fewer events. The latter reflects a wider shift in live music, with higher prices driving growth rather than ticket sales. The first two though simply reflect the harsh realities of culture in the 2020s: competition is fierce!

Download the full IMS electronic music business report 2025/26 here.