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01 Aug 2023
Business
  • Live Nation’s Q2 revenue rose 27% over last year to a near-record $5.6bn as the concert division saw double-digit growth in every measurable category. Concerts revenue rose 29% to $4.6bn. (PRNewswire) 
  • Universal Music Group reported financial results for Q2 and H1 ended 30 June. (PRNewswire) Revenue of €2.7bn for Q2 was a 6.4% increase year-over-year, or 8.8% in constant currency, driven by strong growth in the Recorded Music and Merchandising and Other segments.
  • Spotify reported a 27% improvement in monthly active users to 551m in the April to June period, including 331m on a free, ad-supported account. Premium subscribers jumped another 17% year on year to hit 220m. Total revenue also grew 11% yoy to €3.2bn. (Guardian) 
News and Features
  • Ibiza and the Balearic Islands have been placed on “red alert” for wildfires following weeks of scorching temperatures. (DJMag) 
  • Berlin’s Senator for Culture has announced an €947m culture fund for 2024, which will go toward adding 500 new cultural spaces across the city. (Mixmag) 
  • Defected Records has announced a new fundraising partnership with UK housing and homelessness charity, Shelter. (DJMag) 
  • Fred again.. and Shygirl have been nominated for the Mercury prize. (RotD) 
Digital
  • Muzos, a music application that gamifies the listening experience and encourages the discovery of new music through rewarding engagement, has launched its new music listening rewards service. (RotD) 
  • BeatStars announced a partnership with new ethical AI music startup Lemonaide. (RotD) 
  • Spotify has announced that it’s raising its premium plan prices. (BBC) In the UK the price rises £1pm to £10.99, while Premium Family is up £1pm to £17.99. In the US, the main premium ad-free subscription plan will be increasing from $9.99pm to $10.99. Other changes are Duo (up $2 to $14.99), Family (up $1 to $16.99), and Student (up $1 to $5.99). 
  • Beatport to award $150,000 in grants supporting diversity and equality in dance music. (Billboard) 
Live
  • Holy Ship! Wrecked reveals 2023 line-up. (EDMTunes) 
  • Berlin Atonal reveals over 60 new acts for 2023. (RA) 
  • Kygo's Palm Tree Music Festival heading to the Great Pyramids of Giza. (EDM) 
  • Kraków's Unsound reveals second wave of artists for 2023. (RA) 
Comment, Opinion and Analysis
  • What will Spotify’s price rise mean for its recording artists and songwriters? (Guardian) 
  • Spotify price rise reaction – and possible consequences. (MusicAlly) 
  • With revenues growing to $11.3bn in 2022, electronic music’s impact on live events has never been greater. (IQ) 
  • Music streaming services switching to a user-centric payment model would have a “significant” impact on the payments artists receive, with one in five artists doubling their earnings, while four in 10 could see significant drops, according to the results of a new study. (MBW) 
  • Amid continued discussions about user-centric streaming payouts – and the growing prevalence of artificial intelligence – a new deep-dive study is exploring the complex potential effects of a pivot away from the pro-rata model. (DMN)  
  • Spotify says ‘Super Listeners’ — the ‘die-hard, listen-on-repeat, buy-up-all-your-merch’ fans — make up 2% of monthly listeners but 18% of streams. (Spotify) 
Tech
  • Slicing breakbeats like Nia Archives. (Attack) 
  • Crumar confirms it's remaking the Spirit synth (RA) 
Beatport
  • Beatport.io launches with Digital Techno Collectibles Series ‘NACHTS’ (Beatportal)
  • Playlist of the Week: Amelie Lens (Beatportal)
  • Introducing: Adiel (Beatportal)
  • JFB shows off Beatport Streaming with djay Pro AI (Beatport)
Clubs
  • XOYO is set to open a new club in Birmingham. (DJMag) 
  • 15,000-capacity London venue DRUMSHEDS announces Charlotte de Witte, Jamie Jones, DJ EZ, and more for first parties. (Mixmag)
Deals
  • Eric Prydz signs with WME in all areas. (Billboard) 
Streams & Podcasts
  • RA.895 Ruby Savage (RA) 
  • System Olympia in The Lab LDN (Mixmag) 
  • Armin van Buuren live at A State of Trance London, Silverworks Island (DJMag) 
  • Folamour at Cathédrale Saint-Pierre in Geneva, Switzerland (Cercle) 
  • MANDY | Tomorrowland 2023 (Tomorrowland) 
  • Paul Kalkbrenner | Tomorrowland 2023 (Tomorrowland) 
  • Alesso | Tomorrowland 2023 (Tomorrowland) 
  • Amelie Lens | Tomorrowland 2023 (Tomorrowland) 
  • Hardwell | Tomorrowland 2023 (Tomorrowland) 
Artist and Music Features
  • The 15 best house tracks of July 2023 (Magnetic) 
  • Breaking Through: Regal86 (RA) 
  • Fresh Kicks 200: Sabrina (DJMag) 
  • EX.671 Craig Richards (RA) 
  • Selections: Piezo (DJMag) 
  • 29 years of DJ Deeon: 20 of the ghetto house pioneer's best releases (Mixmag)
  • Remembering DJ Deeon, the low end king that brought the funk (RA) 
  • Ethereal splendour: the otherworldly spectacle of Secret Garden Party (Mixmag) 
  • How Massive Attack’s ‘Mezzanine’ predicted a new era for British music. (DJMag) 
  • Major League Djz's top five emerging artists from South Africa. (Mixmag) 
  • Autonomy, community and a vast quantity of quality music: Why B.A.D. founded a label (Mixmag) 
  • yourboykiran talks about his path into DJing, shitposting, swerving the white gaze and whipping up a frenzy on the dancefloor. (Mixmag) 
  • KASIA: “I truly love the energy of Romanian crowds” (Mixmag) 
  • Georgia seeks al fresco ecstasy on her new album, Euphoric. (BBC) 
  • Paco Osuna: be here now (DJMag) 
  • Folamour: “Most of the music released nowadays is empty of any soul and emotions” (MusicTech) 
  • Frederick John Philip Gibson aka Fred again.. hasn’t exactly built his career from the ground up, but his tunes are huge, he has a mega fanbase and he's just been nominated for the Mercury Prize. So, Clive Martin asks, is it really fair to paint him as the enemy of dance music? (Face) 
  • Founded by U.K. producer Mark Knight and his brother Stuart, Toolroom Records has made its name by forging trends and always evolving with the market. (Billboard) 
  • Toolroom at 20: two decades of triumphant tech-house (DJMag) 
  • Meet the winners of the Pete Tong DJ Academy Future Talent Awards (DJMag) 
Artist News
  • Bushwacka! and Carl Cox have teamed up for new single 'Music Is Life'. (Mixmag) 
  • John Summit’s Off The Grid label is to rebrand following legal dispute. (DJMag) 
  • Dom Dolla and John Summit launch new event series, Everything Always. (EDM) 
  • Pacha Ibiza is celebrating its 50th anniversary with the release of a special vinyl compilation, ‘Vinilo Pacha 50 Aniversario’. (DJMag) 
  • Swedish House Mafia release career-spanning live album from 'Paradise Again'. (DJMag) 
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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.
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