Image via Complex Original
We used to turn on radio and hear an inaudible mixture of Lil Wayne and Nickelback tracks, so we took solace in finding our personal soundtracks in other places. From dark rooms and record stores to obscure international websites, we prided ourselves on finding the next sound. As others derided us for our particular musical taste, we knew we were on to something special. As our love for electronic music has grown, so has the commercial prospects of the music. It's easy to lament it as a bastardization of our music, but it's also misguided. Not only is it a natural evolution, it's a good one. Commercialization isn't just a buzzword, and it certainly ain't a bad word.
Innovation
You and I both know that we'd get sick of the same thing over and over again (overused Trap-A-Holics' samples anyone?!) and commercialization is a large part of what pushes the music forward. Music and the arts as a whole are cycilical; a continual progression from simplicity to complexity and back again. A particular release will never change but our perspective does. After premiering in Rustie's 2012 Essential Mix, Baauer's "Harlem Shake" was an underground killer. A DJ and dancefloor darling, the trap tune dominated dancefloors around the world, but with it's recent explosion, many are already denouncing the tune and the trap scene as a whole. The success and mainstream acknowledgement of "Harlem Shake" (including hitting #1 on iTunes and Billboard and being at the center of a public "controversy" all after making rounds via a viral video meme) has left a sour taste in the mouth of many. While understandable to an extent, why does another person's enjoyment of a song affect your enjoyment?
The fact is, Baauer and his "Harlem Shake" are no longer underground. That doesn't mean the underground is dead; producers are always looking for the "new sound" and pushing sonic boundaries, and that'll never change. It's the imitators and money-chasers who suffer, and that can't be a bad thing. So while some of the music we know and love to be underground will one day be huge (Skrillex!), that doesn't mean the underground ceases to exist. You can't have the underground without the mainstream and vice versa. Commercialization is a natural part of this cycle and it's essential to the development.
We Don't Have To Hide
Forced to rave in illegal warehouses, the culture experienced a puberty of sorts. The wild and crazy days of MADchester had long passed and as "electronica" emerged in the US the '90s, it was awkward. Onlookers doubted the scene's maturity, others ignored it altogether, but just like that first bout of acne as you enter high school, it was not going away. Goverment tried to stifle it with the RAVE Act (thanks Joe Biden!) and so the culture moved to the warehouses and abandoned fields, out of sight but not cured.
Furthmore, if we combine a few glimpses of hope and potential along with the sometimes questionable if not inexcusable misshaps and tragedies, we've got the dazed and confused days of teenage adolescence. Now as we're preparing for the apex of EDM's commericialization, the acne which raged on almost tearing the face off the culture, has all but subsided. We're still fighitng with our parents (government and mainstream media stigma!), and we're just trying to prove we're ready for college. Surely we'll make mistakes along the way, but we've got a bright future and we're ready for it. No need to hide!
Music as Healing
EDM is no longer just for the chinstrokers and the exclusive clubgoers, but rather for everyone. It's on TV, it's viral, it's on your sister's iPod. It's in the clubs of Philly, it's in the deserts of Egypt and it's down under in Australia. We no longer have to be part of an exclusive club or know the right people to have access to this music, which means we all have access to this great music and it's power. With the wider audience, the rave community's PLUR values and inclusive reputation is being put to the test and its opportunity to help heal what ails society as a whole. Chances are you know at least one person who's life was irreparably changed for the better by EDM (even if they don't publicize it), but there's much society can learn from our community as a whole.
Producers, DJs, go-go dancers, glovers, bloggers, MCs, promoters, kandi kids - everyone can find a role. Mini-rave scenes are sprouting up in some of the most random and previously unthinkable places, (Salt Lake City, for instance, has one of the strongest rave scenes despite the Mormon community's traditionally conservative views) and there's a reason. EDM is not singularly defined and there really is something for everyone and commercialization is helping show it to the world.
Making a Difference
Just like any awkward teenager, we tried things and we went through phases (breaks, anyone?), and as we've grown up our friends have resented us claiming we've "changed" and that we're "not who we used to be." But is that such a bad thing? NOPE! Not at all. I'm sure you don't want to be remembered for that awkward time in your life when you listened to Eiffel 65 un-ironically.
Now as we've grown up, EDM as a whole is beginning to shape into a legimate cultural force with wide-scale effects. The scene is stigamtized right now by drugs, but with the global audience we can now shed this. There are numerous HUGE HEADLINING acts who do not drink, smoke or do any drugs and yet they have avoided using their platform to help the community; this has to change now. Rather than getting political in this space, it's important to note the kind of cultural impact music can have and the issue of drugs and public health is something to important to ignore.
Part of growing up is learning to do the right thing, and now EDM can do it, too.
Better Services
Infinite Legroom. Potato. The EDM Network. LessThan3. These are just four services right off the bat that are a direct by-product of commericalizaiton. Money is being poured into these ideas and they're becoming a reality, and it's not just suits coming in. Infinite Legroom was started by A-Trak and is a travel website powered by his and other DJ's experience. Potato is a new YouTube network of shows a la MTV or ESPN and it's designed to bring a host of new content with the the intention of educating and enlightening new and old ravers every day. The EDM Network (Trapmusic.NET, Dubstep.NET, House.NET, etc.) synthesizes the best on the Internet to bring it to you in bite-sized form with previews, links for purchase and downloads, all and only with the permission of the artists whose music they wish to post. After making their name originally as one of the best EDM blogs in the game, LessThan3 has moved a few steps forward in their master plan, hooking up with the Ultra Music Festival to provide a new virtual event platform, far different than anything else we've ever seen.
These are just four examples of the kinds of things that are made possible with commericialization. As Wall Street and others want a piece of the action, the spirit of competition only helps the scene progress.
It's Good For the Economy
Every dollar invested in EDM-focused companies means investments and spending and you can't argue with the postives of that. More companies focused around EDM means more jobs, more opportunities, more everything. Yes, it will get to the point where it will be too much, but we're a long ways off from that right now, so let's let the good times roll.
Benefits and Rights for DJs
As money is poured into the scene and more people want a piece of the cake, there are more opportunities for producers and DJs to flex their skills and get their payday. Yes it means more competitiors, but a true professional doesn't fear amateurs.
Before smashing his mix on Shade45's "Sway In The Morning," luvstep pioneer and Philly legend Dirty South Joe was asked about the rise of the "celebrity DJ," and he plainly admitted he liked it. "It all just means more money. The roof, the ceiling itself, is kind of unlimited right now. We're making rapper money now." More than that, we're seeing institutions like the AFEM pop up; a non-profit that among its many other roles will help bring DJs together on to get their due credit and benefits. Royalties, career advice, health insurance. These are the things that help soldifiy our scene and protect the things that make it go.
