“Trance isn’t a dirty word anymore”: Armin van Buuren and Apple Music on the future of dance

At the 2026 Winter Music Conference in Miami, Dutch trance pioneer Armin van Buuren joined Apple Music’s Stephen Campbell and Tim Sweeney for a keynote panel that dissected the intersection of heritage and high-tech. From the “spooky” evolution of AI to the sonic breathing room of Spatial Audio, the conversation painted a picture of an industry undergoing a massive atmospheric shift.

Addressing the elephant in the room, van Buuren was candid about the anxiety surrounding artificial intelligence. “I read a book about AI because I was skeptical—and honestly, a little scared for my own job,” he admitted. He noted that while anyone can now prompt a tool to “make me a track like Armin van Buuren,” ignoring the tech is a mistake. “One important thing to realize: the AI we’re using right now is the worst AI we will ever use. It can only get better… if you ignore it, you’ll fall behind.”

After 25 years in the booth, van Buuren celebrated the return of melody to the mainstream. “Trance isn’t a dirty word anymore—techno artists have embraced melodies again,” he noted. “Suddenly, it’s like an old sweater you’ve worn for 25 years becomes fashionable again.” He urged aspiring artists to “dare to be different,” adding, “If I were to play anything else, it wouldn’t feel authentic or real.”

The panel also highlighted how technology is preserving dance music’s history while expanding its future. Stephen Campbell emphasized Apple Music’s mission to rescue recordings “lost to digital obscurity,” such as the legendary Fabric or The Box tapes. “When you ask what properly licensing mixes unlocks, the answer is everything,” Campbell stated.

For van Buuren, new formats like Spatial Audio provide a technical solution to “cramming” modern synths into a mix. “Spatial Audio simply gives you more headroom, so your ears will bleed less,” he joked. This technical freedom even led to a “crazy midlife thing”: an exclusive classical DJ mix for Apple Music. “I remember thinking, ‘Classical DJ mix? How the hell am I supposed to do that?’” van Buuren recalled. “I never would have done it without that push.”