New research released today reveals that dance music culture is alive and well in the UK — with one in every six members (16%) of the British public having been to a dance event since 2012.

The wide-ranging study also shines a spotlight on the huge growth of dance music festivals in recent years and points to a thriving bedroom producer culture in the UK.

The findings form part of Ticketmaster’s State of Play: Dance Music report, a comprehensive look into the UK and European live dance music events industry, which also shows that Brits are attending dance music events well into their 30s and 40s, spend £20 – £50[4] on an average night at a dance event (36% of dance attendees) and name Calvin Harris their favourite DJ[5].

The State of Play: Dance Music report, produced by Ticketmaster’s LiveAnalytics division, surveyed 4,934 members of the British public including 1,017 dance attendees, and combined findings with ticket sales data to produce a wide-ranging set of insights into the industry.

Attendance of dance events
In the three years since 2012, one in six (16%) members of the British public has been to a dance event. Of these attendees, the vast majority attended a dance music event in the past year.

Club or venue attendees are the most likely to attend more frequently (close to a third of those who attended in the last year went to 5 or more of these events).

The results also reveal that dance music event-goers were almost three times more likely to have attended a music festival in the last year (63% vs 23% of the overall population). They were also almost twice more likely to have attended a music concert or gig in the last year than the overall population (78% vs 42%).

Age of dance attendees
Over 30s account for nearly half (44%) of dance attendees, whilst those aged over 40 make up 16%. The majority however, is under the age of 35 (71%).

16 – 24 year olds are the age group most likely to attend club events, with a quarter (25%) of this age bracket having been to one or more of those events. 25– 29 year olds are the most likely to go to Ibiza (11%) and those aged 20 – 24 are the most likely to go to dance festivals (24%).

Dance festivals, dance events in clubs and beach clubbing — how they compare
Events in clubs are the most popular type of dance event, with 60% of dance attendees having attended in the last three years, while 51% had been to festivals and 56% to beach clubbing destinations.

Of those who went to a beach clubbing destination, just under half (46%) have been to Ibiza — meaning that 3% of the British public has been clubbing in Ibiza in the last three years.

The results also reveal a high level of overlap, with 14% of dance attendees having been to all three types of events (festival, club event, Ibiza) in the last three years.

The rise of the dance festival
In the past 15 years, the number of dance music festivals in the UK has increased by 500%.

In the year 2000, there were only seven dance specific festivals — including Creamfields, Homeland and Futuresonic — whereas in 2015, there have already been 35, including South West Four, Gottwood and Outbreak.

Ticketmaster transactional data reveals a 29% increase in the number of more “mainstream” festival customers who purchased tickets for dance music festivals between 2012 and 2014 from Ticketmaster.

Dance fans’ favourite DJs[6]
Calvin Harris 11%
David Guetta 8%
Avicii 5%
Tiësto 4%
Fatboy Slim 2%

Busiest DJs[7]
Steve Aoki 127
Above & Beyond 116
David Guetta 115
Borgore 103
Zedd 94
Kaskade 93
Nicky Romero 87
Nervo 84
Skrillex 79
Oliver Heldens 77

Spend on live dance music experiences
Dance attendees spend £20 – £50[8] on an average night at a dance event (36%) — but around a quarter (26%) of Ibiza attendees would be put off by the cost of attending Ibiza again in the future; 30% of club attendees think the same of events in club nights and 38% of festival attendees believe the same of festivals.

Relatively[9], when the price of a night at the top clubs in the world now and 20 years ago is compared, Ibiza’s Space is today cheaper[10] than Manchester’s Hacienda at its peak 20 years ago.

It would cost £211.79 for a return journey to Ibiza, a ticket to Space, four beers and a bed in a two star hotel room[11] in June. However, it would have cost slightly more — £212.46 — for the equivalent at Hacienda, when prices are adjusted to account for inflation.

When it comes to looking the part, the biggest spenders are 20 – 29 year old festival-goers, with one in seven spending over £100 on clothing to wear at festivals.

The pull of the celebrity DJ and VIP area
The results show that the lure of the celebrity DJ is strong. On average, when going to an event in a club, almost half (49%) would pay between £20 and £50 to see a celebrity DJ, whereas for less well-known DJs, the majority (52%) would not pay more than £20.

As the lure of the celebrity DJ is undeniable, the appeal of VIP experiences for festivals is also relatively strong – with 41% of festival-goers strongly interested in purchasing VIP tickets.

Is dance music becoming more mainstream?
Thirty-five percent of dance attendees agree that dance music is becoming more mainstream — three in five of which think this is a positive thing.

Indeed, the favourite genres of dance attendees appear to point towards a mainstreaming or homogenising of tastes. Dance and pop tie for attendees’ favourite genre[12] with 63% apiece, followed by rock (53%), rhythm and blues (47%), hip-hop (41%) and indie (41%). A quarter of dance attendees even name metal as one of their favourite musical genres.

The rise of the bedroom producer
The results reveal that one in 10 dance attendees also create dance music. As James Barton, president of electronic music at Live Nation argues in the report — in the same way that the stars of the past century inspired millions of young people to pick up guitars, the ready availability of today’s technology including apps, the tools for self-promotion and superstar DJs are inspiring the rise of the bedroom producer.

These budding producers are more likely to take the view that dance is becoming more mainstream when compared with those who do not create their own music (66% vs 32%). They are also more inclined to see this as a positive thing (80% vs 53%).