The impact of EDM is no secret; in fact if EDM were a comic book character, it would smash the Hulk, into bits, no questions asked. Acts like Steve Aoki, Dada Life, and Calvin Harris have received partnerships to bring in more cash flow; Aoki with Trident, Dada with Adidas, and Harris with Pepsi. EDC just held it’s largest population yet at a massive 300,000 attending the entire weekend AND it sold out. Last year, Swedish House Mafia (RIP) played to the sold out Madison Square Garden, Absolut Vodka whom they also had a partnership with, sponsored the event.
I have been listening to techno for almost eight years now and the evolution that has taken place within the music as well as throughout the public eye has been absolutely astounding. I always believed hip-hop would be making its comeback and push the scene movement we all would rather forget out of the picture. Instead we got this ear blasting music we can’t get enough of with more sub genres than any other genre out there.
Circa 2006, I attended my first EDM festival; Monster Massive, this is when my eyes opened and knew that there was something bigger within this music scene. In 2008, I went to my first EDC when it was still held at the Los Angeles Coliseum. My friends and I still remember that night like it was yesterday and agree to this day that we were seeing history in the making. EDM blew up over night and we were there experiencing the growth first hand. From that night on, the rest is history. I’m sure all of you reading this can easily agree that this movement has been coming with more force than Thor’s hammer, Tyson’s punches, and Bruce Lee’s scissor kicks all rolled into one.
Lately, the question on so many people’s minds has been is EDM getting TOO big? It is growing at a very rapid rate and causing much controversy this past summer with news of a death at the latest EDC, Deadmau5’s Rolling Stone interview, and Live Nation buying HARD. Some listeners have stated that this is barely the tip of the iceberg for it still has room to grow while others think that it wouldn’t be a bad thing if the movement slowed down, but it is clear like crystal that EDM has NO signs of slowing down what-so-freakin-ever.
The stages are getting bigger (example: Avicii and Deadmau5) and the festivals are becoming longer (example: remember when EDC was ONE night?), is all of this becoming too much? Have you guys ever wondered what will happen if/when EDM finishes its chaotic run. Will it crash and burn? Will it simmer out? Will it be praised? Most importantly, will it be remembered a hundred years from then as insane as it truly is to all of us currently experiencing it? Not to be corny, but only time will tell.
Sometimes while I’m blasting Gareth Emery podcast or a live set I just downloaded, I get nostalgic. I reminisce about the days when we didn’t have to hit refresh every .02 seconds to make sure we got tickets to that one big show or when kandy wasn’t banned but welcomed or when tutu’s and fishnet stockings weren’t typical event wear. The expansion of the music scene has been monumental and like every monumental movement, there are going to be changes. Commercials use tunes for their soundtrack, it’s in clubs EVERYWHERE, new dance moves have popped up, and there is wayyy more skin at an event then there was at Monster Massive ’06. These changes are part of the roller coaster ride that we are thoroughly enjoying and we will keep doing it until A) we get too old B) the shows and festivals come to an end or C) we get bored. God forbid the last one happens though because I love how EDM has affected and keeps on contributing to my life and the people I’ve met through it cause DAMN, it’s just so f–ing GOOD.
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