Disclaimer: I didn’t edit this article at all. I wrote whatever came to mind, in no logical or chronological order. It’s whatever.

If you don’t want to read this giant wall of text, I’ll sum up this article in two sentences. Those of you actually interested can read on.

1. The biggest problem with the EDM scene right now is that all of a sudden, EDM has become “cool”.

2. Because of this, EDM has become mainstream and commercialized at an unprecedented pace.

I tweeted earlier today, “What/who got you into EDM?” For me, the answer to to that question is Daft Punk’s debut album Homework in 1997. I’ve been in the scene for about 8 years now, and I must say, I’ve never seen it change so fast and so much as it has in the past two years or so. I’ve witnessed the scene change in every aspect, but not like this. This time, it’s different. All of a sudden, electronic dance music has evolved from a shunned sub-culture to the embodiment of today’s culture. Three years ago, if you told me that a Calvin Harris or Swedish House Mafia song was being played on Z100 or every other popular radio station, I would have laughed in your face. Now, it’s a reality. And this sudden mainstreamization of EDM can be attributed to one notorious name: David Guetta.

A lot of people hate David Guetta, especially those part of (or pretending to be part of) the EDM community. I’ll tell you right now I don’t; in fact I respect him a lot. Though I don’t enjoy David Guetta’s music, he had one goal in producing his songs, and he succeeded like no one before him. David Guetta took EDM and made it enjoyable to the mass public. Just look at David Guetta’s number of likes on Facebook. All of a sudden, “Titanium” and “Memories” were must-know songs. I don’t blame Guetta for doing what he has done. He brought EDM to the radio, the mass public, the mainstream. In effect, he made EDM “cool”. And with it came incredible, unintended consequences for the scene. Guetta did not intend for these consequences… but we are severely affected by them today.

Raving was a different scene only a few years ago. You didn’t have DJs selling out Madison Square Garden (Swedish House Mafia) or Radio City Music Hall (Avicii). In fact, DJs never even considered playing at these venues. Raves were strictly a warehouse/club thing. There weren’t mass promotion for these events; if you knew about them, you went. In this sense, the EDM community was extremely closed off to the public. It was hard for someone to enter the scene freely. Now, at every single event, there is probably AT LEAST a hundred people who had never been to a rave before. Again, I don’t hate this. I hate the fact that most of these people are ruining the scene.

Why is it that events have become under-dressed individuals taking drugs and pushing everyone around them to get to the very front? I see fewer and fewer people dancing every time I’m at an event, though I see more and more people drunkenly stumbling around. Why do I see multiple fights every single event? Just a few years ago, it was all about PLUR and enjoying the scene together. If you were in the front of the crowd, you had no one pushing you. If you were in the back, you had plenty of space to dance. Things have changed so quickly, certainly for the worse. I attended a warehouse rave (Kyau & Albert + Eco) in Brooklyn, NY not long ago. It reminded me so much of what the scene used to be like. There was a stark contrast in the Brooklyn rave and the mega-rave (Dirty South @ Roseland) I was at earlier that day.

The mainstreamization of EDM is becoming extremely obvious. Facebook tells the story better than I can. Back in the day, John Digweed was the fucking man. Few DJs did it like he did. In fact, he was #1 of the DJMag top 100. Take a look at his number of likes on Facebook compared to last year’s winner, David Guetta. I saw Digweed yesterday for a Blkmarket event and WOW he still has his magic. He is ten times better than most of the entire top 100. And yet, he doesn’t even break the top 50. There’s a reason for this… How often do you hear John Digweed’s name? Rarely. How often do you hear let’s say… Alesso’s? Too often. And now, Alesso is way more popular than John Digweed, though he is certainly not better. Because of Alesso’s popularity, it is now “cool” to listen to Alesso.

Look, I don’t hate Alesso, either. I think some of his productions are incredible. I just hate what he represents. Alesso is the archetype for a mainstreamized, commercialized DJ. In just about every set Alesso plays now, you can easily predict the ending: Calling, Titanium remix, and Pressure in some order. He’ll basically play every anthem of the past year, from “In My Mind” to “Greyhound” to “Save the World” and etc etc. I’m sick and tired of going to these mainstream house events and hearing the same tracks OVER AND OVER. How many times am I gonna hear Greyhound for God’s sake? And yet, these DJs don’t change a thing. They play the same set over and over in different venues to different crowds because that’s what people are wanting/expecting to hear. THAT right there is the problem with the newcomers to EDM. The DJ should not be expected to play ANYTHING; they should do whatever the fuck they want to do to make you have a good time. Sure, there’s nothing wrong with throwing in their new, popular track. But when you do the same shit over and over again with the same old shit you’ve been playing everywhere, I lose respect for you. What’s even worse: the fact that the evolving EDM scene accepts this.

With the increasing popularity of EDM has come extreme negative publicity. Raves are all of a sudden known as the haven for drugs, violence, and sex. They have a horrible name in public media. Why does this happen? Well, let’s take the Haunted Colliseum event from last weekend as a PRIME example…. GOD DAMN how fucking stupid are people these days? I’m sick and tired of little kids who have no genuine interest in the music/community who attend these mainstream events for the sole purpose of getting drunk, doing drugs, and finding sex. I actually get really fucking angry when I see a bunch of dudes perusing the crowd for girls when they obviously don’t give a fuck about the music, though they may pretend to. Or when I see kids rolling face on MDMA who are at a Sebastian Ingrosso event but have never heard of Laktos or Kidsos. I’m so glad I didn’t go to Haunted Coliseum because it’s literally a manifestation of everything I hate about the “new, cool” EDM scene. Anyway, these kids give the media a reason to bash on the EDM community/scene. That many kids overdosing, causing NYPD to shut down the event… seriously God fucking damnit. What I don’t understand… The very generation that grew up in a counter-culture revolution is hating on EDM, the subculture of today. Why? It makes no sense to me. Anyway…

With EDM becoming “cool”, a lot of negative effects come attached to it. For one, ticket prices have increased a ton. I want to use Swedish House Mafia as a perfect example of what I seriously hate about the commercialization of electronic dance music. Their whole “ONE LAST TOUR” marketing ploy is too easy to see through… They announce their breakup and make a giant deal out of it. For fucks sakes, it was on the British news… are you fucking kidding me? Then, they magically announce ONELASTTOUR in a billion venues so that a billion people can see them for the last time. AND they sold out almost every venue. Even better, they announce that they’ve “added a new show” because these event dates are sold out. NYC, perfect example. They sell out MSG & Barclays in like 10 minutes… and one by one, as they sell out, they announce more and more shows at Barclay’s. And now, three fucking shows at Barclay’s. Jesus Christ SHM, when the fuck did it become all about the money?

And that’s exactly what I hate. I HATE that DJs are doing it for the money now, when before, it had nothing to do with that. Look at Steve Angello for example. (Yes, I’m bashing hard as fuck on Swedish House Mafia). He played a massively mainstream sold out event, Size in the Park. Remember the marketing scheme to build the hype behind this one too? 902112 my ass, fuck you Steve Angello. Regardless, look at the set he plays in Central Park for the mainstream crowd: the same shit SHM plays in every god damn set, with a few tiny little deviations. Now, look at the set he plays at Pacha for his afterparty. He digs deep into his records, not playing ANY mainstream house tracks, and doing it with fucking style. The Size in the Park afterparty was actually incredible; Angello fucking killed it at Pacha. He did what DJs should be doing, NOT playing every mainstream house track known to man. Steve Angello is the EPITOME of a DJ doing commercial shows like Size in the Park purely for the money. I believe they call it “selling out”.

And I hate DJs like that. I’ve grown a serious hatred for events like that too. All the oldschool DJs like Sasha, John Digweed, Danny Tenaglia, Sven Vath, Carl Cox, etc don’t run this bullshit. For me, and basically everyone else who has been in the scene long enough, knows that they put on a better show than any new and upcoming DJ can. And yet, they’re not NEARLY as popular as they should be anymore. A part of this is due to their lack of producing. Let me explain.

With David Guetta taking EDM to the radio, he has changed how we see DJs in general. People went to see David Guetta in concert because they knew his songs. Inevitably, to please the crowds, he plays his tracks live. And therein lies the problem. THERE IS A HUGE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PRODUCER AND DJ. Producers create songs… DJs play them. People began to go see DJs live because they wanted to hear their productions. Don’t believe me? Who are the most popular DJs nowadays? Probably… Swedish House Mafia and Tiesto? Okay well… to SHM I say, Greyhound, Save the World, One, Don’t You Worry Child. Tiesto: Maximal Crazy, C’Mon, We Own the Night. All these tracks have a ridiculous number of views on YouTube. And newcomers to the scene listen to these songs, realize it’s “cool” to listen to these songs and to see the artist live. So they go. And of course, the PRODUCER plays these songs. What you’re seeing is producers becoming DJs, just to showcase their music and make money. I god damn hate it.

You may be asking yourself, “what’s the point of this article?” Honsetly, I have no fucking clue. I just want to tell you how much I hate the direction that EDM is headed in. From here, there’s so many different things that can happen, but I don’t see the hype dying anytime soon. Investors are interested in EDM because they see it as a growing market, which once again, I seriously hate. This trend will continue. The mainstream will get even more. Swedish House Mafia will get even more praise and probably be considered legends. Here’s a fucking wake-up call: what they do on-stage is nothing special. Any fucking idiot who knows how to DJ (myself!) can EASILY do what they do. So why are they lauded for doing it? Who the fuck knows. Talent in DJing is seriously lacking at events now, and I’m so tired of it. The crowds are becoming worse and worse. I’m sick and tired of this direction that EDM is headed in. I guess this is really just a rant from me. I’m just reminiscing of the good times. Maybe one day it’ll return to what it was.