Beatport Awards To Honor Top EDM DJs, Fan Voting Now Underway

Fan voting for the Beatport Awards is now underway. Fans can help select the EDM artists that will be honored in March. Other winners will be based on sales or honored by a panel of experts. As electronic music fans know and the rest of us are gradually figuring out, Beatport, now owned by SFX Entertainment, is considered the pre-eminent source for ranking EDM djs based on sales. So the Beatport Awards are actually more important to the music industry than overall coverage might suggest.

My understanding is that if one wants a career as an EDM dj, Beatport's charts are a key element in one's rise to power. In fact, these are the charts that are most likely to be gamed via tactical track buys and the like.

In addition, a surprising number of young EDM artists don't even register with collection agencies and are unlikely to ever appear on SoundScan charts.

Which makes the Beatport Awards one of the more important annual awards in the music industry despite a certain lack of awareness outside of electronic music.

Beatport Awards Categories

Fans can vote now through February 28 for Community Choice finalists in 4 categories:

• Track of the Year
• Artist of the Year
• Label of the Year
• Album of the Year

You can see all nominees for Community Choice awards here.

Some categories will be based on Beatport sales:

• Best-Selling Original Track of the Year
• Best-Selling Remix of the Year
• Best-Selling Album of the Year
• Best-Selling Compilation of the Year
• DJ Choice Award (the track appearing on the most DJ charts)

And special honors will be given by a "panel of experts and dance music veterans on the BEATPORT staff" for:

• Track of the Year
• DJ of the Year
• Best Musical Collaboration
• Best New Artist Lifetime Achievement

Fan voting ends February 28 and all winners will be announced March 7.

More:

• "Maximizing Beatport" With A "Bloodbath" Of Layoffs: SFX Entertainment [SFXE]
• JustGo Announces $1.7 Million In Funding, Former Beatport CEO Jonas Tempel As Board Chair
• EDM News: SFX Buys Beatport, Avicii Releases Crowdsourced "X You", DJ Marketing Bible

Hypebot Senior Contributor Clyde Smith (Twitter/Facebook) is currently relaunching All World Dance. To suggest topics about music tech, DIY music biz or music marketing for Hypebot, contact: clyde(at)fluxresearch(dot)com.