Boiler Room is an online music broadcaster and club promoter based in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It hosts predominantly

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

events, focusing on underground genres, in locations internationally, with

live streaming Livestreaming, live-streaming, or live streaming is the streaming media, streaming of video or Digital audio, audio in real-time communication, real time or near real time. While often referred to simply as ''streaming'', the real-time nature ...

. Since it was founded, it has organized more than 8,000 performances, with 5,000 at more than 200 cities. Its music programming originally focused on

but eventually expanded to include others genres such as

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and classical.

History

2010–11: Foundation and expansion

The project started in 2010, when Blaise Bellville asked Thristian Richards to livestream a mix for a magazine. Boiler Room's first session in March 2010 turned into a weekly show with local DJs, becoming a

Ustream IBM Watson Media (formerly Ustream and IBM Cloud Video) is an American virtual events platform company which is a division of IBM. Prior to the IBM acquisition, it had more than 180 employees across San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Budapest office ...

channel. Early in 2011, the

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

magazine added Blaise to its list of "50 Most Important People In EDM". Boiler Room founders started expanding the project to more cities, replicating their initial model in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

with local DJs, and then other cities like

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

and

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

2012–20: Growth

The early focus on the underground music scene and

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

in London broadened to other genres such as

and classical. On 27 and 28 February 2016, Boiler Room live streamed

DJ EZ Otis Roberts, better known by his stage name DJ EZ (pronounced "DJ ee zed") is a UK garage DJ from Tottenham, North London. He was one of the earliest proponents of UK garage music, hosting a long-running Kiss 100 radio show and mixing the '' ...

's 24-hour DJ set which raised over £60,000 on behalf of

Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...

. In May 2016, Boiler Room live streamed

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

's launch party for the '' Konnichiwa'' album in Tokyo. Boiler Room launched in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

with a show in

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

in April 2016 followed by a show in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

with

Disclosure Disclosure may refer to: Arts and media Film and television *'' CBC News: Disclosure'', a television newsmagazine series in Canada * ''Disclosure'' (1994 film), an American erotic thriller film based on the 1994 novel by Michael Crichton * ''Dis ...

in May 2016. In August 2016, Boiler Room live streams covered 42 hours of various soundsystems at the

Notting Hill Carnival The Notting Hill Carnival is an annual Caribbean Carnival event that has taken place in London since 1966

. Boiler Room's first full-length documentary, on Atlanta based collective Awful Records, launched in June 2016. Boiler Room has since continued producing TV shows and documentaries aimed at telling stories tied to the people, artists and culture. This includes shows like ''Gasworks,'' a 20-minute, grime-focused talk show starring Alhan Gençay & Poet. In 2018, Boiler Room launched '4:3', a platform for film, documentary and music videos, with Amar Ediriwira as its creative director. In 2019, the first 'Boiler Room Festival' was announced in

Peckham Peckham ( ) is a district in south-east London, within the London Borough of Southwark. It is south-east of Charing Cross. At the 2001 Census the Peckham ward had a population of 14,720. History "Peckham" is a Saxon place name meaning the vi ...

, London. The event showcased a different underground scene each day, across contemporary jazz, rap, and dance genres.

2021–24: Under DICE

In 2021, ticketing platform

DICE A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...

bought Boiler Room for an undisclosed sum, after raising $122 million In 2023, it launched its first World Tour with 20 shows across several cities, including

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. The 2024 World Tour expanded to 25 cities:

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, New York, Seoul, Toronto,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Amsterdam,

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Paris,

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

and

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

's February 2024 Boiler Room performance, titled "Partygirl", held in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York, more than 25,000 RSVPs, the largest number in Boiler Room's history.

2025–present: Under Superstruct

DICE subsequently sold Boiler Room to

Superstruct Entertainment Superstruct Entertainment is a British live entertainment company and one of the world's largest festival promoters. As of March 2023, the company had acquired over 85 festivals in Australia and Europe, making it the second-largest festival prom ...

in January 2025 for an undisclosed fee. The acquisition was received with criticism because of Superstruct's parent company,

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global private-equity and investment company. , the firm had completed private-equity investments in portfolio companies with approximately $710 billion of total ...

(KKR), and its economic interests in

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

and

occupied Palestinian territories The occupied Palestinian territories, also referred to as the Palestinian territories, consist of the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip—two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been occupi ...

. Several artists, including Ikonika, Beatrice M., Mia Koden, BasicDisarm, jtamul, and 8ULENTINA canceled their appearances at Boiler Room over this. In March, Boiler Room released a statement, saying "we will always remain unapologetically pro-Palestine".

Awards

Boiler Room and its projects have received a number of awards and nominations: ; Boiler Room * 2016 Webby Awards: Honoree – Websites and Mobile Sites, Music ; 4:3 * 2018

Lovie Awards The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) is an organization that was founded in 1998 in New York City to recognize and acknowledge excellence in interactive content across emerging technologies. According to the organizati ...

: Gold and People's Lovie – Culture & Entertainment websites * 2019 Lovie Awards: Silver and People's Lovie – Culture & Entertainment websites *

2019 Webby Awards The 23rd annual Webby Awards were held at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on May 13, 2019, and hosted by actress Jenny Slate. The Webby Awards have been dubbed the "internet's highest honor". The nominees were announced on April 2, 2019 and ...

: Nominee – Websites and Mobile Sites, Music * 2019 Digiday Media Awards: Nominee – New Vertical ; Migrant Sound * 2019 Webby Awards: Winner – Social, Culture & Lifestyle (Campaigns) ; Contemporary Scenes * 2019 Webby Awards: Winner – Social, Music ; Individual and team awards * 2018 The Drum Digerati – Stephen Mai (Top 100 in Digital) * 2019 Campaign's Power 100 – Stephen Mai (Top 100 in Marketing) * Jodie Nicholson – Alternative Power 100 Music List * Video Team of the Year – Digiday Media Awards

References

External links

* {{Authority control Culture in Berlin Culture in London Electronic music organizations Recurring events established in 2010 Dance music television channels Live streaming services Internet television channels