NEWS FROM INSIDE THE ELECTRONIC
DANCE MUSIC INDUSTRY

Welcome to the weekly INDUSTRY INSIDER – created by IMS and RECORD OF THE DAY. We've teamed up to create a digest of global electronic industry news, across the full spectrum of the genre, to help you get straight to the stories that matter. INDUSTRY INSIDER will follow the template of Record of the Day but focus on what’s relevant for this genre and demographic…
BEN TURNER
Co-Founder, International Music Summit
Pete Tong's Essential New Tune
My Heart's On Fire
Bautista
Slacker 85
14 Aug 2026
Comment
"This week's selection could almost be an eclectic selection or a guilty pleasure. We're talking about Seth Troxler paying homage to one of his all-time favourite tracks with a special project inspired by Heir to the Throne's 1991 Latin House single for Easy Street Records' 'Heart's Desire'. The Slacker 85 boss commissioned one of his favourite current artists to reimagine the track for modern club sound systems, and that artist is Mexico's Bautista. He has been at the forefront of the scene over there for a number of years, operating across a range of aliases and collaborations. So here it is, this week's ENT, 'My Heart's On Fire', from Bautista on Slacker 85." 
This week's featured Essential New Tune was featured in last week’s Friday show on BBC Radio 1. Listen again and forward to 27.02 here. 
Contact
Label: Slacker 85
Radio: Jake Price, Dispersion PR
Club: Jake Price, Dispersion PR
25 Aug 2026
News and Features
  • Femme House has announced its first-ever Intro to DJing course in partnership with AlphaTheta, which launches in September. (FemmeHouse)
  • AIM revealed the final wave of nominees for the 2026 Independent Music Awards. (RotD) Jim Legxacy and Fcukers are this year’s joint-most nominated acts. DJ duo Fabio & Grooverider are to receive the Innovator Award.
  • NightSchool opens applications for emerging Nordic nightlife creatives. (RA) 
  • Huge stashes of illegal drugs have been dug up at the Creamfields site ahead of the festival taking place this weekend. (BBC) 
  • Glasgow launches search for first night-time economy manager. (RA) 
Digital
  • A new EU regulation could inadvertently crush the Bandcamp ecosystem. (FirstFloor) The Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is designed to reduce packaging waste, but it's been implemented in a way that makes compliance all but impossible for small sellers of all shapes and sizes.
  • YouTube's ‘Stations’, linear channels of music videos that broadcast 24/7, is expanding both in the number of creators who have access to it, and the nature of those channels. (MusicAlly) 
  • Deezer has revealed half of all new music shared on the platform is AI generated. (Times)  
  • Apple Music has revealed more information on its upcoming AI labelling system, due to launch “later this year.” (HR) 
  • How Spotify is protecting artist identity and helping listeners know who and what they’re hearing. (Spotify)
  • Universal Music Group and AI-powered social music creation app Hook announced a licensing partnership that enables fans to create and share content, and more. (RotD) 
  • How summer’s biggest moments shaped listening trends on Spotify. (Spotify) 
Live
  • Existance festival near Tetbury has been given the go ahead to operate in September after organisers postponed the event due to "compliance issues". (BBC) 
  • Bonnaroo organisers cancel 2027 festival. (EDM) 
  • Christopher Coe & Carl Cox to take music label Awesome Soundwaves to a new level with music event series, AWS Live. (Skiddle) 
Comment, Opinion and Analysis
  • Do watermarks spell the end of AI content proliferation? (Midia - Hanna Kahlert) 
  • Music as a cultural infrastructure business. (Midia - Kriss Thakrar) 
Tech
  • 10 pivotal synthesisers and their defining songs (Far Out) 
  • A new music-making video game called Chunk DAW, which lets you save and export your music, is currently in development. (DJMag) 
Beatport
  • Hï Ibiza taps Black Coffee, Skepta, The Martinez Brothers & more for 2026 closing party (Beatportal)
  • ATRIP wrote his hypnotic new single "Langur" in the Vietnamese jungle (Beatportal)
  • Playlist of the Week: Logic1000 (Beatportal)
  • Inside Anjunadeep Open Air’s Golden-Hour return to the Thames [Photo Gallery] (Beatportal)
  • What We Heard: HARD Summer (2026) (Beatportal)
  • Eight emerging artists on our radar: August 2026 (Beatportal)
  • Speed up your music digging with Beatport DJ (Beatport)
Clubs
  • Paisley's Club 69 to close after 33 years. (RA) 
  • XS Nightclub will reopen this autumn at Wynn Las Vegas with a ‘reimagined experience’ and a four-night celebration featuring an iconic lineup of artists, including Rüfüs Du Sol, The Chainsmokers, Calvin Harris, plus Diplo b2b Hugel. (DMN) 
Deals
  • Australian  producer, songwriter, vocalist and DJ Anna Lunoe has signed an exclusive worldwide publishing agreement with BMG. (RotD) 
  • Hardwell has signed with Armada Music Publishing. (EDMTunes) 
  • LabelWorx, a global distribution and label services provider for independent electronic music, announced a deal with drum & bass label Metalheadz. (RotD)  
Streams & Podcasts
  • Lost Frequencies ‘Are You With Me’ | The Making Of A Dance Classic (DJMag) 
  • RA Live: ¥ØU$UK€ ¥UK1MAT$U @ Technics SL-1200 Series 55th Anniversary (RA) 
  • RA.1053 Public Service (RA) 
  • Papa Nugs | Mixmag Lab London (Mixmag) 
  • Tita Lau live from DJ Mag HQ (DJMag) 
  • James Hype - London Sunset DJ Set (Magazine Open-Air 2026) (James Hype)
Artist and Music Features
  • The dance floor isn’t dead: Can dance music’s new mainstream surge in the U.S. last? (Billboard) 
  • The music industry has become a trademark minefield (Hypebot)  
  • How Jeff Mills brought his true vision for his 1995 Liquid Room mix to life with Spatial Audio. (MusicTech) 
  • HUGEL: reaching for the Champions League. (DJMag) 
  • 20 questions with DJ Harvey: ‘Once my rent’s paid & I can eat sushi, I stop working’ (Billboard) 
  • Bringing the ‘Casual cookout carne asada vibes’ to the rave, Bolo is leading a new wave of Latin dance music. (Billboard) 
  • Sondela talks A&R, recoupment, and building afro-electronic artists. (Magnetic) 
  • Tape B and Levity on longevity, creative chemistry and keeping up with a changing scene. (EDM) 
  • Marsh on building a forever home for his music. (Magnetic) 
  • Barcelona's SOUNDIT is a glorious antithesis to the big festival complex. (Mixmag) 
  • UNTOLD 1’s futuristic stage designs started a new chapter for the festival (DJMag) 
  • Forging movements: Inside Stone Techno's groundshaking 2026 edition (Mixmag) 
  • 10 music business podcasts you should be listening to. (Hypebot)  
  • 10 of the most iconic DJ sets from Amnesia Ibiza. (Mixmag) 
  • A history of early electroclash in ten tracks (RA) 
Artist News
  • C+C Music Factory co-founder Robert Clivillés is suing Freedom Williams for $30m, alleging he wrongfully claimed trademark despite never being a group member. (Variety)  
  • 10 years after he walked off stage for the final time, Avicii will be remembered at a special tribute event at The Node in Stockholm. (EDM) 
  • Sub Focus has announced that £1 from every ticket sold for his upcoming arena shows will be donated to the UK’s grassroots music fund. (DJMag) 
  • Chris Stussy announces alias change to Chris Stassy. (YourEDM)
  • Interplanetary Criminal and Silva Bumpa tease collaborative single, ‘Hold Da Phone’. (DJMag) 
  • DFA Records has released a charity cover of The Waterboys’ ‘The Whole Of The Moon’ in honour of late Optimo co-founder JD Twitch. (DJMag) 
  • Eris Drew and Octo Octa announce debut album as Alchemical Sisters. (RA) 
  • Nia Archives announces ‘Emotional Junglist’ world tour. (DJMag) 
  • Eddy Palermo, who founded BPMATHON, has set a Guinness World Record after becoming the first person to run an ultramarathon while DJing. (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 23 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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