Everyone always has an idea about the state of the scene related to its favorite genre. Hence, Studio Drum and Bass decided to provide a little survey about the Drum and Bass world. For our concern, it has some little surprises that may challenge one’s received ideas about it. Not to say that the results completely differ from what could be expected, but it is always interesting to point out.

The first subject that comes to one’s mind is the population that experiences drum and bass. There are exactly 350 people who filled in the survey. It is a good surprise for Studio Drum and Bass!

More than 75% of the respondent in this survey are men, which is really huge. Drum and Bass seem to be really masculine in general. It is actually what a lot of people tend to notice when going to parties (maybe less in festivals). Moreover, this aspect of the scene has been emphasized through the answers to the last question: « What do you think is missing in the DnB scene? ». It is also quite diverse in terms of age. It spreads from 16 to 60 years old and the vast majority is included between 18 and 26 years old. The Netherlands and the UK have the most votes. In this survey, Western Europe is widely represented. New Zealand did a good score as well!

« The vast majority of the respondent of this survey usually listen to drum and bass either at home, either while moving »

The vast majority of the respondent usually listen to drum and bass either at home, either while moving (public transports, cars, walking). Surprisingly, very few people mentioned parties, raves, or events. Approximately 33% also said that they don’t use to go to Drum and Bass parties. The same amount answered that they went to these kinds of events once a month. The other third is going more than twice a month.

The most represented subgenre was liquid Drum and Bass with more than 40% of the total. Then comes deep Drum and Bass (20%), Neuro (15%), followed by Jump Up (8%). The other listed genres as Dancefloor, Halftime, and Jungle did not make more than 6% each. We can guess that a lot of Drum and Bass fans don’t listen to the more extreme side of it on a daily basis. Indeed, Neurofunk and Jump Up for instance are more focused toward parties and big sound systems. However, Liquid can be more polyvalent for daily listening. Although we have to keep in mind that it is extremely relative to the listener’s mindset and feelings.

Also, the rise of the streaming platforms could have influenced the way people listen to music. Nowadays, Drum and Bass is available online everywhere and people can listen to it in any situation. On this point, Spotify happened to be the most used platforms by the respondent (44%). Then comes Soundcloud with 34% and Youtube with 19%. The remaining 3% prefer Mixcloud. Spotify has been related to Drum and Bass for quite some time now. Even if almost everything is uploaded on Soundcloud via the artists’ and labels’ accounts, Spotify appears to be the scene’s favorite one. The « I Love Drum & Bass » playlist also shows the preference that some artists have for it.

Now, we have to keep in mind that we have made this survey on a very small portion of the scene. Furthermore, its reach exclusively relied on the Internet and social media, especially Facebook. For example, this survey met a resounding success on the Liquicity dedicated group, which could partly explain why Liquid scored so well in terms of popularity.

Stay tuned for some more information about your favorite genre and let us know if you enjoyed this little experience!