Can Beatport really be considered the definitive guide on the popularity of EDM genres though? Aren't their sales heavily skewed towards deep house/tech house, etc. because more people in those scenes tend to source from Beatport vs the proportion of people in other scenes?
Case in point: If I'm listening to a tech house set and am digging an obscure track, I am unlikely to find a lot of the obscure stuff (which is what makes tech house, tech house) on iTunes or piracy sites, but I can easily find it on Beatport.
On the flip side, a genre like Trance is all about the crowd pleasers, and more popular, less obscure tracks, are readily available on iTunes, and piracy sites.
Also of note, the top genres appeal to us aging, working, former ravers who can now afford to and are willing to buy music.
I find the charts interesting for trend spotting on Beatport, but I don't think it goes further than Beatport...
