Insomniac Events founder and CEO Pasquale Rotella has a man who has donned many hats. And while he sits today, on an empire of Festivals & Music acts that have become synonymous with Dance Music, he still aims to push limits and touch new horizons. In a candid Reddit AMA, Rotella sat down post his EDMBiz conference in Las Vegas and enthusiastically answered a variety of questions ranging from his personal life, to his career, to harm reduction in festivals and as expected, responding to Deadmau5‘s comments on the Festival experience.
With the focus initially on Harm reduction at festivals, where an exchange took place between Rotella and representatives of DanceSafe, the spotlight shifted to Deadmau5‘s comments to The London Evening Standard. Deadmau5 commented on the state of Festivals and gave his opinion on how festivals have become bigger than artists.
It’s another thing I can’t f*****’ stand, you know? Festivals are being branded bigger than the acts, which is totally backwards in my head (spits). It’s ’cause of those acts that you’re a festival! Who wins? The promoter. The guy who’s throwing this festival that’s branded bigger than you, that you think you’re awesome for headlining. It’s a shame, so that’s why I’m pulling out.
Rotella responded to Deadmau5‘s comments where he gave a thoughtful response to the Mau5′s comments. Comparing the music scene between US and Canada, Rotella urged that Deadmau5 embrace this festival culture and show more support for promoters of these events.
First, I want to give props to deadmau5 for acknowledging that some festivals are bigger than the artists. I absolutely agree with him; it’s not some fluke or mistake. I don’t know what Canada’s dance scene was like, but this is the way it’s been in the US since the beginning of the underground scene. There were always DJ-centric events, but those were never the big parties.
In rock and rap, the performer is usually the center of the show. Dance music is its own thing. It’s about having a good time, celebrating life, and listening to good music. From his comments, I’m assuming he’d rather people stand there and gawk at the artist for an hour-and-a-half, but that’s not where I come from, nor where I want things to go. DJs deserve to get love from their fans, but that’s not shown by standing there and watching with your arms crossed. It’s shown by dancing and getting lost in the moment.
I wish deadmau5 would continue making good music and spend less time knocking people that have been supporting the culture since the beginning. I respect his art form. It would be great if he would respect mine, which is striving to produce magical events.
After his comments on Deadmau5, Rotella also spoke about his personal life and his journey towards making Insomniac a reality. You can read up the entire Reddit AMA here.