As technology continues to advance and develop, so does the rest of the world. Information becomes more open source and easy to share, many processes by which business is conducted are continuously improved, and every-day tasks are reduced to the click of a button or a simple gesture on a touch screen. Resources and information are closer than ever. Various forms of media have become incredibly easy to produce – specifically, music. Electronic Dance Music, or “EDM” as it is known in popular culture, has gone from a general term for a handful of electronic music genres and sub-genres to its own genre and what some would call a cultural movement. This, combined with the widespread push for free information and the remix-culture of this generation, has caused dance music to really become a beast of its own. Anyone can sound like a professional with decent software and some knowledge. What makes electronic music unique is that it does not require an actual band or instruments, as all elements can be synthesized. Though some production does utilize acoustic instruments, nearly everything can be replicated with digital software plug-ins. Anyone can make electronic music if they have access to a computer. Many young or new producers dream of reaching the high achievement they see in the popular commercialized EDM.
Dance music was never really a commercial genre until recently and didn’t don the name “EDM” until underground culture became festival culture (essentially, small clubs to huge festival stages) and pop music became more electronic music than anything else. While the grouping of so many genres into the ambiguous “EDM” makes electronic music a more widespread art to be accessed and enjoyed, the actual genres, such as Dubstep, House, Trance, Drum n Bass, etc. (not to mention the ever evolving subgenres and fusions) are done no justice and lose their distinction from one another. Just as most un-popularized arts, electronic music was different and mostly focused on the music and innovation into new styles. However, producers now have become more entertainment geared, portraying the rock star lifestyle and charging ridiculous amounts of money to play venues. Influential techno producer Richie Hawtin says, “I think music in America, and this emanates across the world, everybody wants to be a superstar. Everybody wants to actually cut themselves off from people. Everybody wants to be on a pedestal ... It’s a little bit disappointing how that’s happened in America. It’s really like the whole rock star, hip-hop mentality. You know, these unreachable people.” With this superstar culture, astronomical growth, and huge amounts of money, EDM has also become a huge and profitable industry.
Commercial electronic dance music paints the glamorous picture of lots of money and a lavish lifestyle for those that can make good music and land a record deal. A Forbes article by Zach O’Malley Greenburg covered the top 12 EDM DJs in the world. The top ten acts on the list earned a combined $268 million. So, this lifestyle of wealth and fame holds true for all EDM, right? Actually, the average (salaried) music producer earns about $55,000 per year. This is less than one percent of Calvin Harris’s enormous $66 million, and doesn’t really speak for those trying to make it as performers from their bedrooms. A tumblr post by Nick Thayer (an artist on Skrillex’s OWSLA label) goes into detail about how much money he makes. As a relatively small name compared to the likes of multi-million dollar earning titans such as Calvin Harris, David Guetta or Avicii, Thayer provides a good insight into a more real version of the electronic music business. He shows the numbers for a typical release, which actually costs him money, and how much he makes touring for about three weeks, which totals only "around $800 for three weeks’ work, which is not exactly a fortune."
"So you can see at the end, this EP which probably represented a year of work at actually ended up COSTING me money (though not a lot) to release. If somebody said to you 'put your heart and soul into this project for a year and at the end give us some money for the privilege of having us listen to it’, what would YOU do?" |
So what is the effect of a large amount of money concentrated in the hands of very few people at the top with rock star images, easy access to the tools to achieve success in “EDM” and mass commercialization? Aside from countless generic sounding tracks, it is incredibly difficult for smaller artists to make it, and there is a large amount of corruption, just as there is in many businesses. Up and coming artist Mat Zo recently exposed many industry truths on his twitter. He points out the abuses of the industry and calls out the “poster boys” and their rockstar lifestyles. Though many blogs and news sties viewed Mat Zo’s tweets as jabs at big names and the industry, he clarifies: “well done for completely missing the point … it’s about giving the actual artists the recognition they deserve” (directed at youredm.com that posted an article titled “Mat Zo Calls Out Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren & More In 24-Hour Twitter Tirade”)
As the “EDM” phenomenon continues to expand at an astonishing rate, the industry seems inarguably healthy and well-off. However, the success of the industry has ultimately brought its downfall as well. In the current state of things, very few powerful performers run the show while many genuine artists cannot find exposure for the work they have practiced for and worked hard on. What is to blame? Perhaps it is simply the money hungry big players of the game – the record labels and arena filling DJs – controlling the industry. Perhaps it is the fact that this generation glorifies the lavish “rockstar” lifestyle and feels entitled to have it. Perhaps it is the ease of use that promotes very similar generic commercial music, cheap music that sells. Or maybe it is a combination of all of these. Maybe music the reasons create, the reasons we first pick up that instrument, and the reason we share our work should be reconsidered. Shouldn’t the reward of playing music be the fact that you can play music? Things are bound to change in the future, for better or for worse. For now, however, music is dead.