You know EDM is doing something right when it makes it to CNN’s ‘Ones to Watch’ Series. A “global phenomena” EDM has succeeded in raking in a whopping $4.2 billion from festivals and clubs and crossing R&B, Jazz, Country and Reggae in terms of popularity. Forbes’ top 10 EDM artists collectively earned $268 million with Calvin Harris topping the list with $66 million.
To trace and understand the sudden boom of the EDM culture, CNN approached Steve Aoki, David Guetta, Tiësto and Dimitri Vegas and Like Mike at Tomorrowland. Exploring Guetta’s interaction with disco before switching to House in the late 80s, CNN also talks about Tiesto’s beginnings as an underground DJ.
Back then, first of all, we all played vinyl records, so even when you knew the track, you could not get it. Everything was very exclusive,” says Tiësto in his dressing room, 300 meters away from the main stage of TomorrowWorld.
That’s the big difference with nowadays, because when you jam to a track you already know what it is, and then right away you have the song in your phone or your laptop…that was a very magical period because you played a track and people said ‘I know this track,’ but they still couldn’t find it. That was very special.
CNN goes on to trace how EDM entered mainstream music – through cross-genre collaborations. By this means, EDM accessed the audience of other genres and drew interest toward itself. Steve Aoki tells CNN “, I love collaborating outside of my space…When I got into the dance culture and started producing the music I kept on thinking how to do something unique or different than what the status quo does.” CNN then goes on to explore the exclusive nature of EDM festivals and what makes them a surefire success. The article includes a short clip on Armin Van Buuren among the ‘Ones to Watch.’ You can read the whole article here.
Image Source : CNN
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