Most popular artists from the Netherlands on Instagram 2019

In December 2019, DJ Martin Garrix had more followers on Instagram than any other artist coming from the Netherlands. The Dutch superstar and the world’s number one DJ in 2016, 2017 and 2018, according to DJ Mag, topped a list that mostly consisted of DJs with international fame. These include DJ Tiësto (in second place), Hardwell (third), Afrojack (fourth), Armin van Buuren (fifth), Nicky Romero (sixth), Oliver Heldens (seventh) and Fedde Le Grand (eight). Other entries in this list also have worldwide fame: Simone Simons (tenth) is the lead singer of metal band Epica with the Dutch lead singer of Finnish metal band Nightwish completing the list on ninth place. This list shows a similar trend to the most popular artists from Belgium on Instagram, which includes the inclusion of Dmitri Vegas & Like Mike (an act consisting of two Belgians and a Greek).

The Netherlands exports a lot of dance music…

The export value of Dutch pop music reached over 200 million euros in 2017, the highest value reached since 2004. Most of this revenue was made by the dance/EDM DJs mentioned in this ranking. Three-quarters of all revenue made with live performances came from the likes of, for example, Martin Garrix and Afrojack. “Dutch Dance” was especially popular in the United States and Canada, with artists as Tiësto, Yellow Claw (originally an EDM trio, currently a duo after the group split up) and Rotterdam-born Oliver Heldens giving many performances there.

… but dance is not the only popular type of music from the Netherlands.

Following the EDM DJs and dance labels, Dutch indie labels exported around two million euros worth of recordings in 2017. These are mostly metal, (alternative) rock and pop bands, such as Epica, My Baby, Delain, Klangstof, Charm The Fury and Paceshifters. Another popular artist from the Netherlands is André Rieu, whose classical concerts have attracted large audiences worldwide.