WMC 2019 Announcement: The International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) Returns for 33rd Annual Program


Tuesday, February 12th, 2019 |

The International Dance Music Awards (IDMA), an electronic music institution spanning 33 years, today announces a refreshed approach to its program for 2019 and beyond.

For the first time since its inception, the IDMAs will undergo a complete update to its governing body, categories, and voting processes. Electronic music will now have its very own advisory board that will help to define what the IDMA’s become and bring a new credibility to the awards like never before. The IDMA Advisory Board is composed of major players within the electronic music community, including notable artists, managers, agents, publicists, and promoters, among others.

Part of this year’s awards is powered by Viberate – the world’s biggest crowdsourced platform for listing and mapping the live music industry. Using their metrics-based platform, the Viberate team was able to populate the IDMA artist categories and present a set of nominees based on true artist popularity and free from industry favoritism and politics. Nominees for the remaining IDMA categories will be selected by the IDMA Advisory Board, with the winners of all categories being determined by a public vote.

The IDMAs have always been at the forefront of representing different styles of electronic music while also offering a more inclusive look into the global scene. This year’s awards categories are the most comprehensive to date, modified further to celebrate electronic music’s ever-changing palate and community. Best Artist categories have grown extensively, now featuring electronic music artists representing the pop electronic, techno, house, bass, trance, drum & bass, downtempo, and hardstyle genres. Each Best Artist category is represented by a set of Best Male and Best Female nominees to offer an even wider view of the genre.

The complete list of categories includes:

Categories powered by Viberate

Best Male Artist (Pop/Electronic)
Best Female Artist (Pop/Electronic)
Best Male Artist (Techno)
Best Female Artist (Techno)
Best Male Artist (House)
Best Female Artist (House)
Best Male Artist (Bass)
Best Female Artist (Bass)
Best Male Artist (Trance)
Best Female Artist (Trance)
Best Male Artist (Drum & Bass)
Best Female Artist (Drum & Bass)
Best Male Artist (Downtempo)
Best Female Artist (Downtempo)
Best Male Artist (Hardstyle)
Best Female Artist (Hardstyle)

Categories to be determined by IDMA Advisory Board + voted on by the public

Breakthrough Artist of the Year
Best Pop/Electronic Album
Best Electronic Album
Best Pop/Electronic Song
Best Electronic Song
Best Pop/Electronic Remix
Best Electronic Remix
Best Label
Best Club
Best Music Festival
Best Music Event
Best Podcast / Radio Show
Best Radio Station
Best Streaming Service
Best YouTube Channel
Best DJ Equipment Manufacturer
Most Innovative DJ Product
Best DAW

WMC 2019 IDMA International Dance Music Awards Logo

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL DANCE MUSIC AWARDS

Running concurrently with Winter Music Conference in Miami, FL (March 25-28 in the spectacular Faena District), the IDMAs generate over two million votes annually from music enthusiasts in 209 countries and territories to recognize and honor exceptional achievements in various award categories.

ABOUT WINTER MUSIC CONFERENCE

2019 marks the first fully-programmed WMC since it was announced in March 2018 that the organizers behind Ultra Worldwide, the world’s most successful independent, international music festival brand, had acquired the Winter Music Conference (founded in 1985) and International Dance Music Awards (IDMA) properties. The Ultra Worldwide acquisition aims to restore WMC’s status as the must-attend dance music industry and networking conference in the world. A property unlike any other, WMC’s exclusive hotel partner, The Faena, was named by Conde Nast Traveler as the #1 hotel in Miami Beach for two consecutive years (2017 & 2018) via their prestigious readers poll.

ABOUT FAENA FORUM

Faena Forum is a pioneering public venue dedicated to presenting and showcasing the ambitious, the innovative and the groundbreaking in fields ranging from art and entertainment to business and beyond. Faena Forum, evocative of the ancient civic and architectural concept of a forum, aims to offer Miami a dynamic setting, allowing for ongoing programming under the direction of Faena Art, as well as use by private companies, institutions, and individuals.

Alan Faena worked closely with OMA, the firm founded by Rem Koolhaas and Shohei Shigematsu, partner at OMA and Director of the New York office, who served as the lead architect for the three buildings, to ensure the 43,000 square-foot Forum is designed for ultimate flexibility. The space accommodates everything from a temporary culinary pop up to an acoustically optimal concert. Two volumes, a cylinder and a cube that are similar in size, can be combined or subdivided to support any type of production, from projects and commissions to performances, exhibitions and events. The building has two main levels. The lobby amphitheater features pink marble floors and technical capabilities for surround projections. The upper floor assembly hall features a 40-foot-high dome with a central glazed oculus and a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking Indian Creek. A walkway that spirals up the interior wall of the Forum from street level to the top of the dome which provides visitors with a range of perspectives on the space.

ABOUT FAENA DISTRICT

Miami is a city that has experienced the transformative power of the arts. With this conviction in mind, Alan Faena and Len Blavatnik debuted Faena Hotel Miami Beach in December 2015, marking the first phase of openings in the Faena District Miami Beach. A new neighborhood rooted in the arts, Faena District will help catalyze a cultural renaissance in Miami and further enhance its reputation as a vital link between North and South.

Located in the heart of Miami Beach, Faena District stretches north from 32nd Street to 36th Street, between the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Creek. Every single one of its elements defies convention while promoting cultural inclusiveness that will benefit the entire community.

Faena District is the result of a collaboration between some of the most talented and creative minds who continue to challenge existing concepts of culture, entertainment and community. By integrating art, architecture, nature and technology, Faena District has changed the physical and cultural landscape of Miami Beach forever.

For more information about WMC and IDMA, please visit and contact:

WMC About
IDMA
[email protected]


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Having only missed the very first year of WMC in 1985, it was 1986-1990 that initially placed me on the map globally due to the international attendance of the entire dance music community. All throughout the 90s I was often getting written about by various high profile mags and websites for having contributed to help break many artists, DJs, producers and remixers. WMC enabled me to bring many top industry people together all under one roof, especially at Groove Jet, where house music officially met Techno in my sets and it’s all been uphill since…TBC


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Patrick Moxey

Ultra Music

I feel fortunate to have been part of the first-ever WMC. Over the 35 years, it has grown to give us an international forum where we exchange music and ideas. As an attendee and host of many of the award shows, I am proud each time I see new young talent emerge and then become world-renowned. We all have so many Winter Music Conference moments of hearing a seminal breakthrough record for the first time as well as a new DJ with star quality. Magical moments in my career.


Daniel Glass

Glassnote Records

WMC is and has always been the lifeblood of the dance music scene. Never missed a year since ’96, I can’t imagine Amsterdam Dance Event or Ibiza Music Summit existing without the blueprint that WMC originated. Seeing this revived is absolutely essential to reunifying the North American scene surrounding electronic music and its fringes.


Tommie Sunshine

Producer/DJ/Activist/Netflix Host

Winter Music Conference is my ground zero. It has always provided the perfect storm of opportunity and excitement for up and coming artists, including myself back in 2003, where I first caught a glimpse of how it felt to have an audience respond to my work. Over the years, I’ve always made it a point to have WMC in my calendar because that’s the spot where everyone congregates and you can feel it in the air. Creativity, brother and sisterhood, FUN and most of all the chance to come together as a community and celebrate the reason we are all here—the music.”


Kaskade

DJ/Producer