John Langdon and fellow Massive Advisors, LLC executives recently served as panelists alongside Armin van Buuren at the Amsterdam Dance Event Radio Forum held at the end of October. Here they utilized their industry expertise to head deep discussions regarding the future of EDM, an industry they estimated to hold value upwards of $20 billion.
In their study which was released months prior to their attendance of ADE, Massive Advisors concluded that EDM was snowballing into an unstoppable force within the music community that is pummeling other genres into extinction. In the month following their experience at ADE, they’ve revisited their analysis for us and shed some light on dance music from the perspective behind the curtain.
How did your expertise influence the conferences you attended? What was your contribution to the overall review of the current state of dance music?
The Massive Advisors, LLC EDM White Paper had a big impact at ADE. The dance music community has historically been quite insular and maverick in nature, which is one reason we all love it so passionately. Likewise, the financial community and institutionalized capital has been profoundly myopic concerning the power and potency of the global dance music behemoth. These market inefficiencies and blind spots rarely last, and Wall Street capital found our hiding place and SFX is now the most powerful entity in dance music and, as the Massive White Paper illustrates, is the most powerful entity in all music.
I was honored to be a panelist on the ADE Radio Forum with Armin van Buuren concerning the future of dance music, technology, and the global dance music gold rush. Our commentary resonated strongly within ADE and we were approached by every type of entity, from labels to festivals, technology businesses and magazines. The message we received was consistent – we understand music, but business strategy is lacking and we don’t understand how the new entrants to the market will affect us. There was also much discussion concerning our view of the global tsunami of dance music and how it will penetrate foreign markets.
I’m also a DJ/producer with my group, Kalm Kaoz, along with my talented partner, Nathan Filby (aka Motoe Haus). The participants at ADE know our heart is with music and we were there to be of service and support the dance scene and independent artistry.
Bringing 23 years of investment experience to ADE, coupled with our music and adoration for the dance music community, proved valuable and we’re continuing to provide counsel and support to the new friends we made at ADE.
We hope to be of service to the dance community and be a worthy contributor to our compatriots. I believe we’ve succeeded in this.
Fist in the air, we love house music. Fist in the air, long live house music!
Following the Amsterdam Dance Event, which combines the business aspect of EDM with the personal perspective from fans, how has your speculation on the future of the industry changed (if at all)?
My view of the market didn’t change at ADE. My thesis regarding the new entrants to the market and the ability to control the dance music scene, however, was impressed upon and my view is now stronger on this topic. Dance music is a maverick culture, and combined with the power of the internet and increasing ease of production, dance music cannot be contained or controlled by few entities, as we’ve seen historically in the music industry. The internet can topple governments and it will support freedom and independent artistry. As Tommie Sunshine said on a panel at ADE, “the above ground festivals will grow larger and the underground scene will grow more powerful.” The scene will take two paths – the Disney-like artists manufactured in the plants of institutionalized capital and the mavericks who throw their own raves and are highly strategic about their virally and the net.
Keep an eye out for younger and younger DJs on the top 100 DJ list and their chronic support and appearances at the major festivals. The big guys can’t control the top DJs, but will populate festivals with their own artists over time.
What do you anticipate being the biggest factor in the expansion of EDM in the upcoming fiscal year?
Dance music is in a long upward global trend and we will see the major festival operators and labels aggressively penetrating new markets, from Asia to Africa to Latin America. The effort of the major players to control all markets will be the order of the day.
There is an aggressive move in the global market , from clubs to festivals, to control dance music and the doors to the historic traditional channels will close within a year.
The festivals will grow every grander in 2014 and in terms of big-show entertainment, from light shows to stage setups, will be grand-scale productions. “Up and coming” DJs will grow younger and younger and be brought into the system and “blown up.”
Afrojack will buy 10 new Lamborghini’s.
There has been a lot of talk about the EDM “bubble” surrounding the rapid growth of the market and industry. Do you foresee this bubble bursting in the near future? What would be the main contributor to that if it does?
Music is eternal – as long as there’s electricity, electronic music is eternal. The festival market topped a year and a half ago. We’re likely to see a decline in the mature festival markets, leading to higher growth in the long term. The global market, however, is in an early stage and will continue to experience pronounced growth.
After hearing the opinions of industry experts, record labels, DJs and fans regarding the impact of Dance Music, what would you say is the most important piece of information you learned from attending this event?
We met amazing people. Amsterdam is a brilliant city and the center of the dance music world. ADE was an incredible event and the operators of the event are masterful. It was less a learning experience, and more of a saturation into the essence of dance music; its core; its heart. The passion of the professionals in the dance music scene is awesome and hearing legends speak, like Danny Tenaglia, of their experiences from the underground to these heady moments was incredibly rewarding. The essence of our beloved house music is strong – the force is with us.
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