Electronic Dance Music - An Expanding Genre Worldwide

Laurence Grigorov guides Laurence Martin Developments in Johannesburg, South Africa, as executive director, overseeing the creation of luxury apartment complexes that incorporate leading edge design principles. Outside of work, Laurence Grigorov has a strong interest in electronic dance music (EDM) and was an amateur DJ when he was younger.

The most rapidly expanding genre of music over the past decade, EDM now encompasses a music industry valued at $7.1 billion, with Calvin Harris the top worldwide earner at $66 million. The music revenue is spurred not simply by albums, as with traditional performers, but by massive festivals and concerts that bring together tens of thousands of music lovers for multi-day experiences. For example, New Jersey’s 2015 Electric Daisy Carnival enjoyed a gross of $11.2 million on the strength of more than 90,000 fans in attendance. 

Although growth in EDM has slowed over the past year, it is still experiencing substantial expansion, with particular growth in markets in Asia. The Philippines and Vietnam recently launched new festivals, as did Panama and Cuba in the Western Hemisphere.