The crowned kings of dance music have grown so comfortable, they don’t even try anymore. Just listen to the vocal version of “Reload”.
It doesn’t matter though because the new wave of EDM superstars are coming. They’re working outside of genres and experimenting with sound to create art.
They’re using social media intelligently to build fanbases. The new wave is pushing dance music forward.
These are the innovators, the new wave of future EDM superstars.
Cash Cash – Roseland, New Jersey
American pop meets EDM group Cash Cash from Roseland, New Jersey are prime to takeover in 2013. Jean Paul Makhlouf, Sam Frisch and Alex Makhlouf started playing together in 2002 as The Consequence but it wasn’t until 2008 when they changed their sound and name to Cash Cash before people really started to take notice.
The group released “Overtime” a massive electro-dance-pop track in November of last year and really announced themselves anew.
The pop chorus anthem of “Overtime” reminded me of the way Skrillex incorporates catchy memorable melodies into his dubstep tracks.
Listening to Cash Cash is like popping open a bottle of pure unfiltered fun.
While the thought of electro-pop artists performing at festivals soon may cause purists to cringe, dance music trickling down into every other genre is inevitable. The group fills a void in the market similar to how Krewella did and it wasn’t a coincidence that they remixed “Alive” eight months ago.
Being the first female driven, pop / EDM crossover group allowed Krewella to capitalize on the first mover advantage which included record deal with Columbia.
With lyrics like, “Meet me under shining lights, I’ve been waiting right here all my life,” Krewella combined the emotional appeal of a Fall Out Boy song with the American dubstep sounds made popular by Skrillex. When you consider how many young listeners were transitioning out of pop punk and into EDM, they couldn’t have come in at a better time.
I’m not belittling any of Krewella’s accomplishments or talent, but in making it in the music business also requires expert management and marketing. They have both. Cash Cash does too.
Right now they’re growing their brand organically almost entirely through that coveted #1 spot on the Hypem charts. Ordinary listeners don’t use Hypem. Influencers do. When they begin to release original music, Cash Cash already has a following from the most beneficial market segment for artists, influencers.
Whatever they release will include a bunch of collaborations (joint ventures in the internet marketing world) that will enable Cash Cash to tap into the circles of these artists. Aside from the exposure this will bring, the association with a bigger name immediately lends credibility to theirs.
Radio play, music videos on MTV, reality tv shows… really I think we’ll see at all from Cash Cash. You better get on the bandwagon now, while it’s only half full.
Connect with Cash Cash: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
The Chainsmokers – New York, New York
Former high school athletes, turned sarcastic progressive house music producers, The Chainsmokers are gaining a ton of momentum in the music scene. Even though Drew Taggart and Alex Pall’s influences are listed as “The Stock Exchange, Warren Buffet, Cheese burgers and Turtles,” their sense of humor isn’t what that makes the duo stand out.
The Chainsmokers melodic combination of progressive house with indie music sets them apart from a lot of what we’re hearing now. It’s different from the Sander van Doorn’s of the world, yet familiar at the same time. The first time I listened to their remix of Phoenix’s “Trying To Be Cool”, I could visualize myself poolside with a Corona partying with friends. Good music takes you somewhere.
Good music branded well leaves a lasting impression. Even from established artists we get so track submissions where the artwork is absolute shit. The free download you’re giving away is going right to their iPhone. Bad art is a missed opportunity.
The Chainsmokers artwork is visually appealing, but more importantly it’s consistent.
A lot of their rise reminds me of 3LAU’s in late 2011 – early 2012. Mashups and bootlegs dominated the blogosphere, but Justin’s productions had these intricacies making them unlike everything else out there. It didn’t matter that everyone was making mashups, 3LAU’s were different. I’ve met Justin and his manager Ross a few times and can attest to both of them being genuinely awesome human beings. This alone will take you places.
While their personalities could be seen as childish or crude, it’s not a forced act or updates from a manager. They’re being authentic through social media and this will directly contribute in their success. Fans today want more than just the music. They want to join a tribe (must read) and connect to what the music represents.
It’s the brand that drives successful artist careers. Steve Aoki and Diplo are masters at channeling their unique personalities into their music, message and branding. The Chainsmokers are on their way to do the same.
Connect with The Chainsmokers: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
Martin Garrix – Amsterdam, Netherlands
When “Animals” started first circulating around the web, the speculation on who actually produced the track was unending. It turned out to be 17-year-old producer Martin Garrix from Amsterdam and he was rather coy about how the situation unfolded.
“Of course I had a hard time not telling people that I made it, but it was funny to see people speculating the last couple of weeks. To be honest, I never expected so much buzz around this track.”
Yes, there was a ton of buzz and part of Martin Garrix’s success is due to his camp doing the opposite of conventional dance music marketing. There’s no begging for hearts on Hypem, cheap gimmick remixes (looking at you R3HAB), press releases loaded with buzzwords or free downloads locked behind a Facebook Page.
By anonymously releasing “Animals” it fueled rampant discussion and speculation on who the mysterious producer was. The track was so good, we couldn’t stop but ask who is the producer!? Once they had everyone’s attention, the track was premiered exclusively on Billboard.
What happened…
The Martin Garrix Camp socially engineered hype by creating a sense of scarcity. Information on the internet is the exact opposite of scarce, but nothing was there so everyone talked about it.
When is the last time you heard a track that you couldn’t identify?
Why it worked…
- The product is outstanding
- Speculation around the unknown
- People like to share cool things
Community driven hype behind any product or service is the ultimate goal for any marketer. It’s the best kind of momentum you can have. “Animals” had that, The Harlem Shake had that x10000000, Random Access Memories didn’t.
Through mediums like The Collaborators Series, Columbia Records basically manufactured the idea that the album would be the savior for dance music. Instead of empowering the fans, they controlled the discussion and baited us along the whole way through.
We all bought into the hype. You couldn’t help it. The problem with this is that while listening through the first time you were immediately boxed into deciding whether it was indeed a game changing masterpiece or total crap. That’s what you were thinking about. We all were.
The response and overall sentiments for Random Access Memories would have been very different if we were able to interpret it for ourselves and see how it fit in our own unique relationship with music.
Martin Garrix’s team won’t make the same mistake of trying to manufacture him into something that he’s not. “Animals” is his first solo production, but even before this happened Garrix already had two massive collaborations released this year.
Garrix worked with Sydney Samson on “Torrent” the first release on Tiesto’s label Musical Freedom for 2013. “Torrent” is like the prototype for big room house music, it’s unrelenting and fierce throughout its entirety.
Just a month later the momentum from “Torrent” carried over into “Error 404”, a collaboration with countryman Jay Hardway that was released through Spinnin’ Records. For many the track served as the post anthem of Ultra Music Festival 2013, as it was made popular by Fat Boy Slim opening with the track in both of his sets.
What stood out to me was that Garrix resisted taking the safe approach by making another main stage friendly track. “Error 404” could have followed the “Torrent” blueprint step by step and the media world / blogosphere that’s too busy regurgitating it’s own crap would have still heiled him as a prodigy.
The label of prodigy is correct though. Garrix has already displayed his versatility as a producer and refused to do what’s expected of him. Each release is different than the previous offerings and unique from so much of what else is out there. His track selection on his podcast has unbelievable level of depth to it. And he’s only 17.
It’s like we’re witnessing Porter Robinson’s maturity from “Say My Name” to “Language” except it’s happening over the course of a few months, not years.
We can’t wait to see what’s next.
Connect with Martin Garrix: Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud
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Ordinary is about scaling processes. Greatness is decided by innovation.
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