www.musicweek.com DANCE SPECIALBODYTALK
ELECTRONIC MUSIC IS FINALLY WINNING RESPECT. WHERE NEXT?
With dance kicking off around the world, is there now a need for a global electronic music trade body? DANCE
BY BEN TURNER, CO-FOUNDER, IMS
“Why are electronic music producers not paid properly when their tracks are played in clubs and at festivals? It’s very clear the industry needs help to navigate new income streams.” BEN TURNER, IMS
25.05.12 MusicWeek 21
T
he debate about the sustainability of electronic music around the world continues with the positive Cream / James Barton sale
to Live Nation positioned next to news of two major electronic events in the UK hitting the wall. Is there already a levelling of interest? One thing is for sure, we have been here before and will do so again. But electronic music culture will not go away. It will continue to incubate and innovate and raise its head into mainstream culture again and again. However, those who have been in it long enough
to remember when there was only one official dance music festival in this country – Tribal Gathering, anyone? – will remember that it’s how you operate in the down times that makes you stronger, wiser and sharper. The Ibiza International Music Summit – an
event I co-created with Pete Tong, Danny Whittle from Pacha and other industry professionals – was also launched in down times. Five years ago, it was all doom and gloom and poor Jason Ellis from Positiva / EMI was the elephant in the room when the delegation talked about “not needing the majors” and “staying independent”. Five years on his roster kind of summarises EDM’s success today. IMS was set up to provide stimulating debate
and discussion, to not be afraid of putting ideas out there for the delegation to either help shape or kick into touch. This year, IMS has been urged by a number of leading lights to pose this question: Does electronic music, or EDM, need a trade body to help protects its interests and map out its future? It’s a topic which gets some people quite animated yet makes others yawn. When asked about this issue one major
manager said to me: “I don’t believe in cliques. I’m a lone wolf, fighting my fight, for my artists.” A fair comment and one which probably rings true for many successful company owners. However, it’s those views that make the creation of an association or trade body pretty damn essential. It is very much the case that one unified voice
will help a sector progress, be taken seriously at government and funding levels and give authorities a “go-to” place; few have the time or inclination to sit and listen to 30 different views on any given topic. It also creates unity within the industry, with like- minded people fighting the fight.
Cream’s James Barton said of running festivals
that “it can be a lonely business when you are independent”. It was this view – and the original idea of Rob da Bank – that encouraged us to set up the Association of Independent Festivals in the UK with Alison Wenham’s AIM trade body. AIF has been a huge success on many levels. It
now represents 41 UK festivals. It has made life a little less lonely for some really entrepreneurial people. As the vice-chair of this organisation, I welcome the desire from many in the industry – including respected US entertainment lawyer Kurosh Nasseri – to create such a group. At a series of inspiring meetings at the Miami
Winter Music Conference, and at the IMS symposium at the Ace Hotel in Palm Springs, we both sketched out the reasons why we felt the need to propose this. With both of us living in the two most important markets for EDM, it feels that there are common concerns and goals we share about how this music is portrayed by the outside world, and how we present ourselves to major promoters or even Wall Street. It’s about how EDM is represented at the
Grammy Awards in such boom times, and why nobody challenged the BPI when they dumped the Best Dance Act category from the BRIT Awards. Why are electronic music producers not paid properly when their music is played in clubs and festivals? It’s very clear that the industry needs help to navigate new income streams.
ABOVE Floor fillers... but the electronic music genre needs help to navigate new income streams
Kurosh Nasseri puts it like this: “When I see
rival American hip-hop legends be asked to get on stage to help celebrate an opponent’s success at the Grammys, I think about every dance music award I’ve ever seen picked up. Nobody ever brought a rival DJ onto the stage with them to celebrate. We lack unity. Hip-hop artists and industry leaders have managed to establish their once-ignored musical format as a legitimate music genre to be respected and treated as such. “Not too many years ago none of the Grammy
awards for hip-hop were part of the telecast; now nearly all of them are presented as a highlight of the televised portion of the award show. “All involved with electronic music should aspire
to accomplish the same for their genre but this would require speaking with one voice at least about common goals.” IMS will never force ideas on its delegation or
the industry that it loves to reflect, but it is set up to challenge, stimulate and debate. At IMS this week, the global attendees covering all aspects of the business will discuss in detail whether there is in fact the need and desire to create such a group. The current issue of Music Week celebrates these
incredible times, but there will always be ups and downs. Do you care enough to want to really help shape the future of electronic music? Or put it this way, do you want to help secure
your future in electronic music? See you in Ibiza.
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