The term “EDM” remains under heavy interrogation in the music press, facing constant speculation about its apparent approaching “death,” with further fuel added to the fire following music giant SFX Entertainment’s filing for bankruptcy this year, and the genre’s figureheads apparently disowning it . Leading British broadcaster BBC has weighed in on the discussion.
“This isn’t another ‘Is EDM dead?’ debate,” the BBC immediately states. “It's about the impact it’s had on dance music and what it means for the future of the scene.”
Asserting the term has developed from a catch-all umbrella phrase describing dance culture into a term used to describe the brash sounds heard at festival mainstages, the story points out what is described as the “EDM biz” was worth around $6.2B in the US alone, a figure that represents a 60 percent rise from back in 2012.
In order to dive into the topic, the story speaks to some of dance music’s biggest artists.
“For me, any explosion of music is a good thing,” Howard Lawrence from Disclosure told BBC. “It doesn't mean we want to make that kind of music at all, but I don't mind it existing. I think there’s too much hate going on; everyone needs to just let it be, man.”
Elsewhere, the likes of Alison Wonderland and Oliver Heldens emphasize the term “EDM” represents the sounds of the mainstage, rather than describing the gamut of dancefloor culture.
“People compress electronic into these three letters—EDM—which I don’t like, because there are so many different types of genres within electronic music,” says Alison Wonderland.
“The EDM bubble has burst, they say,” adds Oliver Heldens. “The right translation for that is that this one big wave with more progressive electro big-room kind of style has reached its peak, but now it's time for all the different waves which are coming up.”
The BBC also speaks with several industry figureheads, like Mark Lawrence from the Association for Electronic Music , for their take on the state of EDM.
“[EDM] has put dance music front and centre in North America, if not globally,” Lawrence says.
“I think what we’re seeing now is a discovery of all the other wonderful genres of electronic music, the depth of that music and just how cool it is… We’re now set with a very firm infrastructure for electronic music globally to be credible, commercial and critically acclaimed.”
Check out “Has EDM Opened Doors or Slammed Them Shut in Dance Music?” over at BBC Newsbeat for the full report.
