true IMS Industry Insider | Welcome
Pete Tong's Essential New Tune
Change This Pain For Ecstasy
Rex the Dog
Kompakt
out now
Comment
"The formidable Rex the Dog returns with his first single on Kompakt in three years. Rex is a bit of an undercover legendary dance music producer from back in the day, formerly known as JX. Responsible for some all-time club classics, he reinvented himself as Rex the Dog, and has come back with an absolute banger."
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 40.49 here.
Contact
Label: Kompakt
02 May 2023
Business
  • Believe has formed a partnership with Rinse to handle distribution and label services for its Rinse Recordings and Bad Music imprints. (RotD)  
  • Ingrooves Music Group has extended its partnership with ONELOVE Music Group for exclusive global distribution. (Hits) 
  • In its Q1 2023 results, Spotify's premium subscribers increased to 210m, a 15% YoY increase, while monthly average users (MAUs) jumped 22% YoY to 515m. (Spotify) 
  • Universal Music Group's earnings for Q1 2023 saw total revenue rise 9.3% YoY (all figures in constant currency) to €2.451bn. Recorded music revenue was up 9.6% YoY to €1.923bn. Subscription streaming revenue jumped 10.3% YoY to €1.329bn, while physical revenue grew 32.6% YoY to €315m. Music publishing revenue for Q1 was up 11.5% YoY to €425m. (Variety)
  • Believe reported Q1 revenues of €198.6m, up 22.2% YoY. It's premium solutions business, which includes label services, marketing, distribution, promotions and sync, grew by 23% to €186m, while its automated solutions that include TuneCore, generated €12.7m, up 11.2%. (DMN)
News and Features
  • Spinnin' Records has reached 30m subscribers on their YouTube channel and are launching an animated series to celebrate. (EDMTunes) 
  • Over 30 UK clubs have donated a share of their bar profits to War Child UK last weekend as part of its Right to Dance initiative. (DJMag) 
  • DJenerates offers the chance for aspiring DJs to win a set at Amnesia this summer. (DJMag)
  • HMV is to return to its former flagship store on Oxford Street later this year after a four-year absence. (Guardian)
  • IMS Ibiza 2023:
    International Music Summit (IMS)     has released the full findings of its annual IMS Business Report. (RotD, Report, Billboard, Variety, RA, Mixmag) Highlights include:
    - The global dance music industry valuation at $11.3bn, an increase of 34% and 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels. The jump is partly fuelled by the creator community and live sector.
    - Ibiza club ticketing revune generated $137m, up 55% fro $88m in 2019.
    - Electronic music artists represented 39% of all festival bookings. 
    - Only one in five 'dance music creators' earn a living from their craft
    - Tech House remains Beatport's leading genre

    Grimes Keynote Speech (IMS Twitter Livefeed) highlights include: 
    - “Dance music is about interacting with technology, creating new landscapes and realities. Dance musicians aren’t afraid of technology that’s one of the reasons I love it so much.” 
    - “I feel strongly that there’s way too much gatekeeping in music.”
    - “I think everything about copyright is problematic. There’s too much top down control. 
    - “Why shouldn’t people be able to use my voice? Something cool and beautiful might come from it.” 

    Max Lousada on Warner's dance strategy, A&R, AI and the 'Art' of what's possible with technology. (MBW) 

    IMS Ibiza delegates face the future of AI: ‘Pandora’s Box is definitely open’. (Variety)
     
Brand Partnerships
  • FIVE Hotels and Resorts has teamed up with Warner Music Group to create the record label FIVE Music. The partnership's aim is to turn it into a global powerhouse that offers exclusive releases and curated experiences with high-profile artists. (EDM) 
Digital
  • TicketSwap has introduced the FairShare feature, which divides profits from ticket sales equally between the seller and the organiser of the event. (IQ)  
  • YouTube has unveiled two new AI-powered music ad solutions focused on targeting Gen Z. (DMN) 
  • Daniel Ek has indicated that he intends to raise Spotify's pricing in 2023 but the timing will depend on label negotiations and other factors. (DMN) 
  • Dequency has partnered with AI music tagging and recommendation engine Cyanite, with a view to enhancing discovery on its own decentralized music licensing marketplace. (RotD) 
  • TuneCore has partnered with Beatport to enable TuneCore artists to distribute their songs to the platform. (RotD) 
Web3
  • Volta unveils official collaboration with Pete Tong’s DJ Academy. (RotD) 
Live
  • Lyon festival Nuits Sonores reveals Lab programme for 2023. (RA) 
  • Cercle are to launch a new concept One Way, a series of shows where the identity of the DJ remains a surprise. The first edition will be held on 11 May at Nexus near Paris. (EDMTunes) 
Comment, Opinion and Analysis
  • Why AI generation might be just what music needs. (Midia - Tatiana Cirisano) 
  • What happens when music is no longer static? (Music X) 
Beatport
  • Moscoman delivers his ‘Rob The Plants’ EP on Disco Halal (Beatportal)
  • Playlist of the Week: Chloé Caillet (Beatportal)
  • Damiano von Erckert: Lovers, Fighters, and ‘Euphoric Spirits’ (Beatportal)
Clubs
  • Ibiza:
    The London DJs bringing the bangers to Ibiza this summer, from Jamie Jones to Eliza Rose. (Standard) 
  • The former Printworks nightclub in London Docklands is being transformed into a vast new workspace hub named The Grand Press, which will also contain a new cultural venue, according to developer British Land.  
    Broadwick Live has announced that Printworks hopes to return in three years and that they will continue to work with our partners at British Land to create the future cultural venue that retains the essence of the iconic Press Halls. (RotD)
Streams & Podcasts
  • RA.882 Otik (RA) 
  • Kirollus from DJ Mag HQ (DJMag) 
  • Schak in The Lab LDN (Mixmag) 
  • Lola Haro | Boiler Room x DGTL Amsterdam 2023 (BoilerRoom) 
  • Bambounou | Boiler Room x DGTL Amsterdam 2023 (BoilerRoom) 
Artist and Music Features
  • The 15 best house tracks of April 2023 (Magnetic) 
  • Fresh Kicks 197: Sam Goku (DJMag) 
  • How Shapeshifters' 'Lola's Theme' became an enduring house anthem (DJMag) 
  • Discover how starting an independent label can empower electronic music producers like Erdi Irmak to unleash their full creative potential. Learn from Irmak's experience and insights as his indie label, Worlds Apart, releases its captivating second track, Fragments. (Magnetic)  
  • Meet the team Arca (EDMTunes)
  • Hard noise: Rotterdam's PRSPCT brings anarchic punk energy to electronic music (DJMag) 
  • Inside Taipei's flourishing underground club scene (DJMag) 
  • Ukraine: Nightlife in Resistance [video] (RA) 
  • I actually had fun at Fatboy Slim’s metaverse rave. (TechCrunch) 
  • Beyond the stereotype of the knob-twiddling bloke are brilliant female producers, but gatekeeping, toxic masculinity and a lack of concrete support are holding them back. (Guardian) 
  • ‘I was decadent, I was stupid, I was a fool’: the dark days of Donna Summer (Guardian - Daniel Dylan Wray) 
  • SWARM talks mental health in dance music: ‘I do want to remind people they’re not alone’ (Forbes) 
  • Why techno rule-breaker Avalon Emerson traded club bangers for featherlight dream-pop. (Pitchfork) 
  • Diplo on aging out of Coachella, his new country album and why he ran the L.A. marathon on acid. (HR) 
  • How Fred again.. jolted dance music (NYTimes)  
  • The Art of DJing: Carl Cox (RA) 
  • The resurgence of DJing’s golden age could come with AI (DJTechTools) 
  • London nightlife is dying – Printworks is the latest casualty. (iNews) 
  • Printworks: Final show for famous dance music venue. (BBC) 
  • Grimes is allowing anyone and everyone to use AI models of her voice — and she'll split royalties with you, 50/50. Her manager, Daouda Leonard, tells us why they think they've found the future of music. (RollingStone) 
Artist News
  • Four Tet has released a new track Three Drums. (Mixmag) 
  • Tokimonsta has purchased a $2m modern cottage in L.A.’s hip Atwater Village neighbourhood. (Dirt) 
  • ILLENIUM is partnering with the nonprofit End Overdose, one of EDM.com's best industry leaders of 2022, on his upcoming tour to educate fans on how to spot signs of an overdose and administer the opiate overdose-reversing treatment Naloxone. (EDM)
  • Batu is launching a new label, A Long Strange Dream, with the first EP on the imprint, For Spirits, landing on 26 May. (DJMag) 
  • Grimes has split from Columbia Records. (Billboard) 
  • Grimes has launched her Elf Tech website, where people can register; upload their vocals, and receive them back as a ‘GrimesAI-1 Voiceprint’ to use in their tracks. (Grimes) 
Recent newsletters

19 Nov 2024

After Five - Luke Alessi
"This has been a huge summer track ID and has finally dropped on DJ Tennessee's Life and Death label. It...

12 Nov 2024

Guessing Game (Kasango Remix) - TMPLE
"This week's ENT goes to a track that is getting props from Black Coffee. It comes from TMPLE, a duo...

05 Nov 2024

Kidz - Arodes
"It comes from a Spanish producer who spends his summers in Ibiza and winters in Miami. He's been on a...

29 Oct 2024

Arachnids - Disclosure
"After the summer anthem of 'She's Gone, Dance On' and the Chris Lake club collaboration 'in2minds', the Disclosure brothers strip...

22 Oct 2024

Now It's Gone - In Parallel
"It comes from In Parallel and a record we previewed on last week's show. George from the duo initially found...

15 Oct 2024

Neverender - Rampa remix - Justice, Keinemusik, Rampa & Tame Impala
"I previewed it on last week's show and it's been released as part of Justice's Neverender remixes EP. If you...

About IMS

IMS: International Music Summit is a global educational and motivational thought-leadership platform dedicated to the continued development of electronic music primarily through the presentation of global summits for the industry. 

About Beatport

Beatport is the worldwide home of music for DJs, producers, and their fans. Founded in 2004, the Beatport family of companies includes Beatport, the preeminent store for electronic music DJs, Beatsource for the open-format DJ community, and Loopmasters, Loopcloud and Plugin Boutique for music producers. Follow us on Twitch, Facebook and Twitter, and Instagram.

About AFEM

AFEM: A global voice for electronic music; representing our culture and commerce. AFEM's membership spans all industry sectors, with over 250 company members across 25 countries, the organisation connects its worldwide membership to develop opportunities and enable change.

About ROTD

Record of the Day has produced a subscription-based daily publication for the music industry for over 21 years, featuring all the best news and comment, along with an editorially-chosen future hit. Sign up for a free trial here.
Submit your news stories here.
About Industry Insider | Get in contact | Privacy policy | Terms and conditions
Brought to you by: www.recordoftheday.com