{"id":1222,"date":"2014-07-08T12:43:03","date_gmt":"2014-07-08T16:43:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/?p=1222"},"modified":"2014-07-08T12:45:01","modified_gmt":"2014-07-08T16:45:01","slug":"edm-as-tourism-the-rebranding-of-uk-rave","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/2014\/07\/08\/edm-as-tourism-the-rebranding-of-uk-rave\/","title":{"rendered":"EDM as tourism: the rebranding of UK rave"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last month, I answered some questions for a UK media\/marketing firm<\/a> researching how UK rave circa 1989 evolved into the US youth phenomenon of electronic dance music (EDM) \u2014 a question I’ve asked before on this blog<\/a>.\u00a0 The piece is lengthy and lies behind a paywall<\/a>, but author Emmajo Read did a great job. By permission, here are some relevant excerpts.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"EDMcrowd\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Why has Raving had a Rebrand?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Valued at $6.2 billion, EDM is no longer simply an acronym for \u2018electronic dance music\u2019. For thrill-seeking digital natives, EDM embodies their live-for-the-moment attitude, syncs up with their technology-driven lives, and satisfies their omnivorous approach to sensory experience….<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

De\u0301ja\u0300 vu?<\/em><\/p>\n

EDM is predominantly consumed in gargantuan proportions in the hotels and purpose-built clubs of Las Vegas, and at festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival<\/a>, Hard<\/a> and Ultra<\/a>. Taking the form of mind-blowing spectacles of auditory and ocular histrionics, these mega-events are often likened to the UK\u2019s mass rave scene of the early 1990s. Amidst a sea of glo-sticks, white gloves, sweets, MDMA, and proclamations of the PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) mantra, it\u2019s an obvious comparison to make. Inducing nationwide moral panics, the UK rave scene developed as a result of the discovery of acid house from Chicago and the unprecedented availability of ecstasy. It was \u201ca highly organised leisure system, and an enormously lucrative economic infrastructure,\u201d says author Simon Reynolds. \u201cStill underground in terms of its atmosphere, it was at the same time the norm: what Everykid did, every weekend.\u201d [3]<\/p>\n

For Professor of Sociology Leonard Nevarez, the relationship between the EDM scene and the UK rave scene involves a fundamental bifurcation. \u201cI distinguish the musical<\/em> development of EDM from its cultural<\/em> development,\u201d he says. \u201cMusically, there’s no question EDM came out of 1989\u2019s Summer of Love acid house. But culturally, I see rave as a historically specific kind of social congregation that’s rather removed from the American context.\u201d [4]<\/p>\n

So what is the American context? \u201cI find it more useful to think about EDM and its music festivals as form of tourism than a musical subculture,\u201d Nevarez explains. \u201cEDM offers a slightly different mix [from Spring Break] \u2013 not as straight, a different set of go-to drugs, often just about dancing \u2013 but still the same kind of destination experience.\u201d Nevarez claims that between 1989 in the UK and 2014 in the US, rave was \u201ceconomically co- opted by a global entertainment industry, re-appropriated into a different set of pop-culture contexts and rituals and stripped of historical self- consciousness, with only a set of sonic signifiers pointing to a much ballyhooed but little understood past.\u201d [4] And now, with EDM artists doing emixes of Disney classics, HBO collaborating with Diplo to make an EDM sitcom<\/a> and top-earning DJ \/ producer Calvin Harris making $46 million in 2013, EDM is very much an industry… [5]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Eat, sleep, rave, repeat<\/em><\/p>\n

The name of Fatboy Slim and Riva Starr\u2019s 2013 hit, and the subsequent name of a Ministry Of Sound EDM compilation, \u2018Eat, Sleep, Rave, Repeat\u2019 perfectly encapsulates the present-minded spirit of EDM fans. \u201cEDM is the music of the present, not the future,\u201d says Sinnreich. \u201cAs computers become more ubiquitous and organically integrated into our social fabric, they will continue to play a role in cultural production, but they will cease to have the novelty and social power they enjoy today.\u201d [11]<\/p>\n

And for Reynolds, \u2018futurism\u2019 is \u201cno longer perceptible\u201d within EDM. \u201cIt surrounds us and permeates all aspects of our lives,\u201d he says. \u201cIn the early decades of electronic music… the bleeps and klangs could signify the future because they stood out against the backdrop of a non-electronic everyday life and a mostly non-synthesised pop music.\u201d [3]<\/p>\n

\"Energy<\/a><\/p>\n

Reynolds believes that \u2018Now!ism\u2019 has replaced electronic music\u2019s familiar trope of futurism, labelling it the \u201cphilosophical counterpart to digital maximalism.\u201d [3] Now!ism is underpinned by a belief that the future \u2013 for ecological and economic reasons \u2013 may never happen. It\u2019s all about adopting an attitude to life that demands instant gratification, and packing as much as possible into every moment. EDM\u2019s auditory and visual real- time excess are a testament to this. And for Nevarez, even the term \u2018EDM\u2019 hints at the ahistoric mindset of mainstream US youth. [4]<\/p>\n

“EDM’s style-neutral connotation, while technically accurate, seems to purposefully lack historical perspective \u2013 the better to market this music to a new generation who doesn’t want the baggage of musical history or ‘underground’ authenticity,” says Nevarez. [4] With this in mind, it\u2019s little wonder that EDM fans are often dismissed by more traditional listeners as mere imitators who\u2019ve misappropriated and bastardised electronic music and rave without even realising they\u2019ve done so…<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Insights and opportunities<\/em><\/p>\n

Culturally, there may be something hollow and mimetic about EDM \u2013 especially to those who revere the authenticity and intimacy of the underground club scene. But as an industry, EDM is clever. \u201cBy fusing pop music, R&B and commercial hip hop with house beats and trance synths,\u201d says [DJ Mag<\/em> editor Ben] Murphy, \u201csavvy producers stepped into a gap in the American market vacated by an increasingly moribund hip hop scene.\u201d Referencing Avicii\u2019s smash hit \u2018Wake Me Up\u2019, he explains that \u201ccombining EDM with country, while not to my taste, is a masterstroke for selling to the Midwest Stateside demographic.\u201d [2] Nevarez shares a similar belief. \u201cThe music industry figured out how to market dance music to mainstream pop and rock audiences,\u201d he says. \u201cIn many ways, EDM signals the commercial eclipse of the recording industry by the concert industry.\u201d [4] …<\/p>\n

And, naturally, EDM events are fertile ground for advertising. Imagine gatherings of sometimes hundreds of thousands of people, trapped in a single space for three days, with shared musical and cultural tastes \u2013 and significant disposable incomes. [12] But despite its incredible popularity in 2014, there are emerging whisperings about the shelf-life of the \u2018EDM bubble\u2019 \u2013 and big brands might need to make their move now, if they haven\u2019t already. But if the bubble does burst, what are the potential implications for millions of Americans youngsters who\u2019ve subjected themselves to sensory hyperstimulation, lavish sonic soundscapes and phantasmagoric wonderlands?<\/p>\n

For Nevarez, \u201cthe dull ubiquity of big-money touring festivals\u201d could potentially make \u201cyounger audiences eager for the theming of their everyday spaces.\u201d [13] He believes that “perhaps it will transition some listeners to other branded experiences after they grow out of music festivals and drug- bingeing, while for others EDM might constitute a stepping stone to more rarefied musical tastes and cultural distinctions.\u201d [4]
\n\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n

Excerpted sources<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

2. Interview with Ben Murphy conducted by author\u2028<\/i><\/p>\n

3. \u2018Energy Flash: A Journey Through Rave Music and Dance Culture\u2019 , Reynolds S (2013) <\/i><\/p>\n

4. Interview with Professor Leonard Nevarez conducted by author\u2028<\/i><\/p>\n

5. \u2018Electronic Cash Kings 2013: The World’s Highest-Paid DJs\u2019 , Forbes (August 2013)\u2028<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

11. Interview with Aram Sinnreich conducted by author\u2028<\/i><\/p>\n

12. \u2018Wall Street Veterans Give An Inside Look at the Growth and Longevity of Dance Music\u2019, EDM Tunes (February 2014)<\/a>
\n<\/i><\/p>\n

13. \u2018The dull ubiquity of placeless music festivals\u2019 , Musical Urbanism (July 2012)<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last month, I answered some questions for a UK media\/marketing firm researching how UK rave circa 1989 evolved into the US youth phenomenon of electronic dance music (EDM) \u2014 a question I’ve asked before on this blog.\u00a0 The piece is lengthy and lies behind a paywall, but author Emmajo Read did a great job. By permission, here are some relevant excerpts. Why has Raving had a Rebrand? Valued at $6.2 billion, EDM is no longer simply an acronym for \u2018electronic dance music\u2019. For thrill-seeking digital natives, EDM embodies their live-for-the-moment attitude, syncs up with their technology-driven lives, and satisfies their omnivorous approach to sensory experience….   De\u0301ja\u0300 vu? EDM is predominantly consumed in gargantuan proportions in the hotels and purpose-built clubs of Las Vegas, and at festivals such as Electric Daisy Carnival, Hard and Ultra. Taking the form of mind-blowing spectacles of auditory and ocular histrionics, these mega-events are often likened to the UK\u2019s mass rave scene of the early 1990s. Amidst a sea of glo-sticks, white gloves, sweets, MDMA, and proclamations of the PLUR (Peace, Love, Unity, Respect) mantra, it\u2019s an obvious comparison to make. Inducing nationwide moral panics, the UK rave scene developed as a result of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":308,"featured_media":1225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[43799,43644,43660,43696],"class_list":["post-1222","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-dance-music","tag-festival","tag-music-industry","tag-subculture"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/308"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1222"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1228,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1222\/revisions\/1228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1222"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1222"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/musicalurbanism\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1222"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}