Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels Pledges To Invest $100,000 in Best Idea to Accelerate Gender Parity Across the Music Industry During Keynote Address at International Music Summit Ibiza 2022

03 May 2022 - Press release

Beatport, the global leader of music for DJs, producers, and their fans, announced at this year’s International Music Summit Ibiza (IMS) its intention to invest $100,000 into an idea that would accelerate gender parity across the greater DJ music industry. Beatport’s CEO Robb McDaniels delivered the exciting news to attending delegates during his “Road To Recovery” keynote address at the 2022 installment of IMS at Destino Pacha Resort in Ibiza, Spain.

Continuing on its mission to provide the next generation of creators, artists, DJs and producers with innovative tools to empower their creative process, Beatport believes this investment into a groundbreaking idea can help propel the industry forward by providing a more inclusive and welcoming environment for female and non-binary artists to realize their DJ ambitions. Though progress has been made in the way of diversity and equality in the music industry, McDaniels acknowledged Beatport’s unique position to serve as leaders of change in the global DJ community.

“When I joined Beatport at the end of 2017, I was shocked to learn that about 95% of customers in the DJ community were male. That just didn’t make sense to me, and while it may be a deep-rooted sociological issue, it’s also a business one that, if solved, results in a meaningful expansion of our market and a big opportunity for our community,” McDaniels continued, “While Beatport has put in place several operational and promotional programs to improve this metric by 60% over the past four years, we still aren’t where we need to be as a community that should have higher standards for inclusion and diversity. The reality is that we need to draw on innovation and collaboration from all corners of our industry to accelerate change.”

In just a few short days since the announcement, McDaniels and Beatport have seen an overwhelming response to this initiative, from entrepreneurs as well as industry partners who would like to expand the program’s investment budget. 

Beatport’s innovative approach to harnessing the power of the DJ community, its performers and fans for the betterment of the industry as a whole is well documented. The Beatport ReConnect initiative began in March of 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic brought the world to a halt with the goal of bringing electronic music fans and artists, as well as charities, together during unprecedented times. ReConnect aims to connect people while benefiting important causes, and since its inception has raised more than $700,000 for charities across the globe.