Report shows 61 per cent of young DJs think social media numbers “matter more” than musical skill

A new survey has found that 61 per cent of rising DJs believe that social media numbers “matter more” than musical skill.

The International Music Summit is currently taking place in Ibiza, a global conference for the electronic music industry. One report, issued by the Pete Tong DJ Academy, has surveyed 15,000 DJs and producers, revealing current attitudes among artists and executives in the genre.

Among the standout findings from the survey, as reported by Mixmag, is that 61 per cent of emerging DJs and producers supported the view that ”I feel today social media numbers matter more than musical skill”.

The sentiments are exemplified by one unnamed 24-year-old DJ and producer from France, who is quoted as saying: “Every [social media] post feels like a test. If it flops I feel like a failure.”

Other results from the survey include the finding that 62 per cent of young DJs and producers describe the electronic music industry as a “closed club”, while 52 per cent report having experienced “anxiety or burnout” and 31 per cent have considered leaving the industry in the last 12 months.

Positive sentiments about the state of the industry were harder to come by, with just 35 per cent saying they feel that “if you persist and have resilience, it will happen”.

Elsewhere at the summit, the prospects for the electronic music industry have looked rosier, with videos tagged with #ElectronicMusic on TikTok overtaking those in the indie or rap categories for the first time in 2024.

The platform’s head of partnerships for the UK and Ireland, Toyin Mustapha, has said: “TikTok users tend to tag the genres of music, especially genres like electronic music. It shows the community they are trying to build and are part of, and electronic music is very much a community-led thing.”

It has also emerged that the global electronic music industry generated $12.9billion over the last 12 months, a growth of 6 per cent. Read that report here.

The report indicated that the industry grew in value from $12.5billion in 2023, and it attributes the increase to festivals and nightclub admissions. It notes that in 2024 the live music industry rose to “more than double” that of its pre-COVID levels, with the likes of Live Nation and Eventim producing an income of approximately $27billion. It adds that the growth is likely due to soaring ticket prices rather than an increase in the number of tickets sold.

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