DJ business and the music industry

Behind the line-ups is an economy with thin margins and a lot of unexamined assumptions. These reports put numbers on it: what underground DJs earn, how Brexit and visas change touring, what the Boiler Room buyout means for the scene, how Resident Advisor reached 25 and where listening is growing.

start here // 27.09.26The Real Numbers Behind Being an Underground DJJust 1.6% of Resident Advisor's 134,000 DJ profiles have five or more upcoming gigs. Here's what the actual data says about DJ economics.
18.10.26Are DJ Fees Breaking the Underground? What the Evidence SaysPromoters have blamed DJ fees since 1996. We tested the claim against surveys, festival accounts and club cases: partly supported, concentrated at the top.
12.10.26Brexit and Touring: What It Means for DJs in 2026A UK minister says fans are losing music from across Europe. What the 2026 touring talks mean for DJs, labels, vinyl and festivals.
19.09.26Inside the Boiler Room Boycott Over Its KKR BuyoutBoiler Room's 2025 sale to KKR-backed Superstruct sparked a boycott that escalated into 2026 die-ins, a departed founder, and a pulled Dublin show.
05.11.26The Ticketmaster Verdict Won't Save Your Local ClubA jury found Live Nation and Ticketmaster ran an illegal monopoly, but the win does little to help small, independent venues.
23.09.26Resident Advisor Turns 25 With a Book and World TourRA marks 25 years with a new anthology, Front Left, and a 10-date world tour from London to Sydney, where the site was founded in 2001.
19.09.26Electronic Music Is Now the Fastest-Growing US GenreLuminate's H1 2026 report shows Dance/Electronic gained the most US streaming share of any genre, and most of it is coming from new music, not nostalgia.
09.09.2616% of Britons Are Listening to More Music, Data ShowsNew YouGov data breaks down exactly who's listening to more music in Britain, by age, gender and discovery method, and Gen Z dominates every column.
05.11.26House Music Gets a Vice City Address in GTA VIJayda G, Elderbrook and Bob Moses feature in GTA VI's Extended Look, and Fred again.. is on the album. What is confirmed ahead of the Nov 19 launch.
27.09.26RTS.FM's Own Data Shows Why 2009 Still WinsWe ran our own 3,865-video YouTube archive through the numbers. Sets recorded in 2009 out-view anything from the last five years by 4 to 12 times.