Although plenty of places claim to be the best stomping grounds for electronic music, there aren’t too many other places that get compared to and recognized as the top destination for electronic music than the island of Ibiza. Ibiza is where iconic party brands such as Cream, Pacha, and Space started and is solely known for the amount of DJs that flock to the island every summer.
Although places such as Amsterdam, London, Berlin, New York, and Los Angeles are also known as the ultimate party destinations, they also are quite large metropolitan areas known for quite a bit else other than partying. Ibiza on the other hand is a small island in the Balearic Sea that isn’t very well-known for much else than its gorgeous sunsets and beaches and club scene.
Since 1998, Ibiza has played host to the DJ Awards, a non-profit independent music awards specifically for DJs. The DJ Awards honors those in the electronic music industry that have influenced electronic dance music not just in Ibiza but all across the globe. The ethos of DJ Awards is that there is no best but simply those that possess and present an unprecedented talent. There is the sheer understanding that creating music and DJing is an art form and is purely subjective.
Each year there is a freshly selected panel of electronic music professionals from all around the world that differs every year. The panel has a diverse range of experience and all share an equal amount of passion for electronic music. There are 2 categories of music and non-music. One reflects a vast array of styles of electronic music while one is not determined by style of music.
In 2017, over 400 artists were up for consideration for 12 categories of music and 120 made the cut. This year had the largest amount of nominees in the 20 year history of the DJ Awards. Although not everyone agrees with the selection of artists, the professionals on the panel believe that the list best represents the scene of today. This of course sparks some healthy debate due to how subjective music can be.
The winners are chosen by the public except for the Special Industry Awards which are chosen by the panel. The ceremony has always taken place at Pacha Ibiza except for the past year where it took place at Hi Ibiza and this year it moved to the new super club, Heart Ibiza. The award is a mystical piece of green kryptonite and actually pulses with light energy and is in synergy with the famous rock in Ibiza ‘Es Vedra’ where the award gets its shape from.
The 21st edition of DJ Awards will take place on September 11th, 2018 at Heart Ibiza. Said to be ‘The Oscars’ of electronic music, The DJ Awards will feature 17 music categories including Bass, Deep House, Electronica / Downtempo, House, Tech House, Techno, and Trance with 4 sub categories that include Progressive House and Melodic House & Techno with 4 non-music categories that are Newcomer, Breakthrough, Electronic Live Perfomer, and International DJ. This year DJ Awards has over 160 nominees.
Special Industry Awards include Dance Nation, Electronic Music Pioneer, Ibiza DJ, International Festival, Ibiza Music Event, Ibiza Night, Outstanding Achievement, Producer, Record Label of The Year, and Track of The Season.
DJ Awards reaches over 160 million across 44 countries and nominees music are listened to over 1250 times with tracks, releases, and labels checked over 1000 times. There is 100% more female nominees for 2018 as well.
For more info on DJ Awards visit: https://djawards.com
