Skrillex, Fred Again.., and Four Tet came in third, according to Beatport.
Albeit a limited reflection of the industry as a whole, Beatport sales can offer a key indicator of buying habits of DJs who play electronic music. The download store has published its final “Beatport Insider” roundup of 2023, providing a snapshot of artists and labels that made an impact over the past year.
According to the report, the highest-selling track on Beatport was “(It Goes Like) Nanana” by Peggy Gou via XL Recordings. Following it are FISHER‘s “Take It Off” featuring Aatig, and “Baby Again..” featuring Lil Baby by Fred Again.., Four Tet, and Skrillex.
While his aforementioned collaboration may have only been the third highest-selling individual piece of music, Skrillex topped the lists of both best-selling artists and most-streamed artists. It comes as no surprise when you take into account the two albums he released back to back early in the year. Quest For Fire comprised a genre-bending array of dance tracks geared toward specialists. Don’t Get Too Close included a wealth of A-list features that helped it cast a wide net on streaming platforms.
The end-of-year “Beatport Insider” piece also included a list of best-selling labels, with house and techno titans Toolroom, Afterlife Records, and Insomniac Records in the top three spots. Insomniac and Afterlife topped the list of most-streamed labels, meanwhile, with Glasgow Underground coming in third.
Beatport was founded in Denver in 2004, a transitional period in which more and more DJs were switching from vinyl records to MP3s. Save for a rocky few years after being acquired by SFX Entertainment (now LiveStyle), the brand has remained a steadfast fixture of the electronic music industry.
The final “Beatport Insider” report of the year also links to an “Old Gold” Beatport chart consisting of tracks from more than ten years ago that sold the most in 2023.
