In the midst of all the buzz around the electronic music scene right now, one sobering thought comes to mind: is this the beginning of the collapse of EDM as we know it? Is our scene going to become just another memory, another story that we reminisce on? For those of us that have been involved in the electronic scene for a while, we know that it’s not about the drugs, the huge festivals, or these over-the-top stages and effects. It’s about the music and the people.
After reading “Electric Zoo, Altamont, And the Future of EDM”, I was overcome with emotion. How could something I love so much, become something that it never should have been? Jay makes an excellent point when he says that unless we get back to the music, there is no hope for our scene. Right now, the scene has blown up from all of the mainstream media and coverage, and turned into just another way for young adults to party. But in order to fix our scene, we need to take a look at what it was, what it has become, and what we need to do to fix it.
The Meaning of EDM (for most of us)
In the beginning, ravers came together to enjoy a safe haven they built together, hundreds and thousands of people united for one sole purpose: to be healed by musical therapy. So what if people thought they were weird with their kandi around their wrists or glow sticks adorning most visible parts of their body? For most of us, it was a perfect world where strangers became friends, friends became family, and we were all unified as one. For me, raving became an escape from a world that seemed full of negativity and inevitable heartbreak. It was a place where I finally felt that I could be myself free from judgement, and where I could love unconditionally without fear of rejection. A good friend recently highlighted an excellent point: yes lives were lost, but how many lives have been saved by EDM? How many of us struggled with being ourselves, feeling like we belonged somewhere, and making friends that shared our vision of the way life should be and found that through attending festivals? We cannot discredit the amazing, life-changing feats that EDM has facilitated for many of us.
The rave scene for me, and for many others, was the most beautiful place that I couldn’t have imagined even in my wildest dreams. Do you remember having those moments where you felt like you couldn’t get any happier? For me, that was it, that was when I decided that I wanted nothing more than to put forth as much effort as possible to promoting the positive aspects of the scene I loved so much. The Ultra After-Movie came out this afternoon, and it was a huge reminder of what the electronic scene means to me: happiness, love, and above all, the music.
What Happened?
You’d have to be blind if you didn’t notice the huge emergence of electronic-based festivals sprouting up throughout the U.S., when a few years ago, there were only a handful of EDM festivals a year (Insomniac events like Beyond Wonderland, EDC, Nocturnal; Ultra; and Hard Events) and “summer festival season” meant you were attending maybe 2-3 festivals that were purely electronic and probably a few indie-type festivals (such as Bonnaroo, Lollapallooza, etc.).There has been an enormous influx in the mainstream popularity of electronic music, and I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. However, with more popularity comes more costs. The DJs require more money, which makes the venues up ticket prices, clothing stores start to sell neon, and everyone all of a sudden wants to “be a raver”. Remember when this was an underground scene and something that people knew about but didn’t talk about? Now tickets for Ultra are almost $500 for general admission in 2014, and the attendance rate doubled from 165,000 attendees in 2012 to 330,000 in 2013. There has been a major boom in the electronic industry, and most avid fans have swept it under the rug and opened arms to the new-comers into the scene.
What changed that made the scene so popular to the masses? A huge reason for this is that Robert Sillerman, billionaire, head of SFX Entertainment group and Live Nation organizer, is planning on building a billion dollar industry based around the electronic scene. While this means good news for clubs, promoters, and those wanting to make money, it means that our little underground scene has become corporate. Silverman plans to create a monopoly and milk the scene of every dollar it’s worth until it’s dried up. Within the last year, Silverman has bought up Beatport, Miami Marketing Group (which owns several clubs in Miami), ID&T Entertainment (which organizes Tomorrowland and Sensation White), and there have even been rumors of Insomniac taking a 50/50 partnership with Live Nation. [Via: Death and Taxes Magazine]
Could you imagine this guy at a rave?
Scary to think about isn’t it? That perhaps these brilliant big businessman have marketed exactly what we want, and we’ve eaten it up like candy. We’ve bought those neon clothes, shoes, bras, etc.; we’ve paid those outrageous ticket prices, we’ve branded ourselves as “faithful fans of EDM” and spent every last dollar and dime chasing these experiences. While I don’t discount that it was worth it, we should take a look at who’s actually making money from all of this.
Where is it Headed?
After the unfortunate and tragic outcome of Electric Zoo, promoters are going to have an extremely difficult time getting the approval from city officials to hold events. Especially, if they are going to continue to be outdoor, full of bass, and during late hours. Most city officials have looked the other way in lieu of the gargantuan amount of revenue they receive from these events, but when people could possibly be putting themselves in danger, the city officials won’t allow it to continue.
Los Angeles was the first city to attempt to shut these events out in 2010 after the Insomniac incident where a 15-year-old girl overdosed on ecstasy, L.A. officials said “I don’t know why our elected…leaders would allow these activities to take place,”, and shortly after that, L.A. mayor Antonio Villaraigosa banned electronic events at the Colosseum. Since then, their new mayor has allowed these events back in, but many city leaders feel the same way that Vallaraigosa did. In Chicago recently, there was a debate over whether or not to host electronic events because of the concern over drug use. Joliet mayor, Tom Giarrante, said “Maybe we need to increase the police and fire (presence at the event), and if that doesn’t work, maybe we need to stop having them.” [Via: LA Times & Chicago Tribune]
The fact of the matter is that city officials don’t see electronic events the way we do, they see them as merely a substantial way to gain revenue. They will just as easily not allow these events to continue, especially if parental-concern becomes a major issue. Expect to see several events cancelled in 2014 for lack of enough security, or fear of irresponsible drug use. For those cities that do allow these events to continue, look to see several drastic changes such as earlier end times, less late-night after parties, and more thorough searches upon entering events.
We Need to Be Honest with Ourselves
There’s no use in denying it anymore, the electronic dance music scene has been fueled and marketed to the use of drugs including ecstasy, molly, MDMA, mushrooms, acid, you name it people are doing it at festivals. I’ve witnessed several people who probably needed medical attention, but at that point “taking care of each other” was supposed to be enough. Asking a fellow raver if they were okay and needed some water used to be the go-to trick for overcoming festival blues. It’s obvious that this was something that was always apparent, but never seemed to be a problem. Now we need to look at the bigger picture, according to data from the Drug Abuse Warning Network, Emergency Department visits from MDMA has doubled to over 20,000 since 2004. Also, these are statistics from 2011 so who knows how many ER visits there are now that it has gotten so bad that festivals have to be canceled over it.
Even if we don’t personally take drugs, we have still allowed “molly” and other drugs to be glamorized within our scene. How would you like to be remembered as the generation that said it was okay to “melt face” and “sex, drugs, and electro” were a good thing? Instead of being remembered for what we really are, a collective group of incredible people unified by our love of music.
Several DJs have risen up to speak out about drugs in the music scene, Brillz recently wrote an essay on his thoughts and Tommie Sunshine has taken to social media to let people know that it’s okay to be sober. What we have to realize is that the people who craft our experiences (artists) love this scene just as much if not more than we do, and although it is their job and they get paid for it, they don’t want to lose this scene either.
Take Action
Electric Zoo was a big slap in the face, and perhaps the needle to burst the “EDM Bubble”. As my colleague Jay Laiche put it, this was a “stab to the heart” for the electronic dance music scene but instead of “watching it bleed out” as he suggests, I say that we mend and heal this wound and become stronger from it. Regardless of opinion, one thing is for certain, Electric Zoo was the “shot heard ’round the world” and we are going to see the scene suffer a major blow from this. It’s the emergence of facts to end all speculation. Before Electric Zoo, I used to say “No way THAT many people take drugs at festivals, mostly it’s just kids there to have a good time and listen to music”, but now it’s time to air out the dirty laundry. Drugs are a huge part of this scene, and if we want our scene to continue to blossom and grow we as a collective need to take action. We need to stand up and speak out, that we are willing to greatly reduce drug use at festivals. Unless those 20,000 ER visits turns into 10, the festival scene as we know it will not continue to exist for the simple fact that cities won’t allow permits for them anymore.
So my fellow ravers, be aware of the facts. Be aware that the scene has turned into a fad right before our very eyes. It has become commercialized and a way for big-wigs to make obscene amounts of money. So stand up, and let those corporations know that we aren’t going to take it anymore. Attend festivals that have fair ticket prices and are making efforts to better our community, not festivals that will pack as many people in as possible regardless of health or safety.
Speak out against how you feel about our scene, everyone has an opinion, so share yours. Taking drugs is a choice, but we need to stop making it seem like it’s okay and we as a group will allow it. We need to show government and city officials that we aren’t going to let our scene go without some kind of a change.
Speaking of Change
Out of all of this, one thing is clear: we need to change. This scene needs to change. We need to take a long look at ourselves in the mirror and take responsibility. If you are someone who can honestly say that you have been to every event 100% sober, and have enjoyed every minute of it, then I applaud you. I also encourage you to mentor others that are trying to implement this into their lives. As for the people who have been guilty of taking drugs every time, occasionally, or even rarely, the drug use at festivals needs to stop. Sure, it might be unrealistic to say that everyone will stop using because it’s an integral part of any music scene. What I’m saying is this: if those that love and respect the scene enough to stop taking drugs at them in order to save our scene, that will be enough to create a wave of new-ravers. Because I know that there are many of you, like me, who are so passionate about this scene that you would do absolutely anything to hold onto it. So let’s do that. Let’s hold onto this scene, let’s hold onto our lives.
This editorial was written by Megan Robinson, the opinions expressed here are my own, and if you want to share your opinion please do so. Comment below, or send me your response/rebuttal at: megan@whiteraverrafting.com
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