It’s been the strangest year, and there’s no point trying to put too much of a positive spin on it: 2020 has been catastrophic for the music industry. The pandemic has killed hundreds of thousands of people worldwide, clubs are shut everywhere, DJs have no live gigs, the whole industry is facing financial hardship and fragmentation. It’s no wonder that some people are getting a bit desperate.

That’s why it’s more important than ever to pull together, support each other, check in on each other frequently. We don’t need everybody being tribal and divisive. What we do need is to reassert the PLUR values — peace, love, unity and respect — that kicked off our scene initially, and work together to eventually come through the other side.

We all want the shows to be back, we all want those moments of communal dancefloor joy that make electronic dance music so special. But we’re gonna have to be patient. Babysteps. Unity. A unifying spirit runs through the soul of David Guetta, the new No. 1 DJ in the world. Which is why it’s quite fitting that he’s back at the top of the tree in the Top 100 DJs poll at this time. Guetta gets dissed by some, but there are few who care so passionately about our global scene — and have done so much to popularise it worldwide. You can read his winner’s interview and digest all of this year’s Top 100 DJs results from page 23 onwards. The beat goes on.

Charlotte de Witte has also become the first woman to top a DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll since way back in 1992. Flip this mag over and you’ll see that the Belgian DJ/producer has topped the Alternative Top 100 DJs list this year, and is also the Highest Climber and Highest Techno DJ in the main Top 100. The times they are a-changing.

Carl Loben

Editor