EDMTCC 2014

The EDM Guide: Technology, Culture, Curation F#

Written by Robby Towns EDMTCC.COM [email protected]

/EDMTCC

NESTAMUSIC.COM [email protected] @NESTAMUSIC

ROBBY TOWNS AUTHOR/FOUNDER/ENTHUSIAST HANNAH LOVELL DESIGNER LIV BULI EDITOR JUSTINE AVILA RESEARCH ASSISTANT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS SIMON MORRISON GOOGLE VINCENT REINDERS 22TRACKS GILLES DE SMIT 22TRACKS LUKE HOOD UKF DANA SHAYEGAN THE COLLECTIVE BRIAN LONG KNITTING FACTORY RECORDS ERIC GARLAND LIVE NATION LABS BOB BARBIERE DUBSET MEDIA HOLDINGS GLENN PEOPLES BILLBOARD MEGAN BUERGER BILLBOARD THE RISE OF EDM 4 1.1 SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST 6 1.2 TO THE DROP 10 1.3 A REAL LIFE VIDEO GAME 11 1.4 $6.2 BILLION GLOBAL INDUSTRY 11 1.5 GOING PUBLIC 13 1.6 USB 14

TECHNOLOGY: 303, 808, 909 15 2.1 ABLETON LIVE 18 2.2 SERATO 19 2.3 BEATPORT 21 2.4 SOUNDCLOUD 22 2.5 DUBSET MEDIA HOLDINGS 23

CULTURE: TO MAIN STREET 24 3.1 DUTCH DOMINANCE 26 3.2 RINSE FM 28 3.3 ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL 29 3.4 EDM FANS = HYPERSOCIAL 30

CURATION: DJ = CURATOR 31 4.1 BOOMRAT 33 4.2 UKF 34 4.3 22TRACKS 38 BONUS TRACK 41 THE RISE OF EDM

“THE HAS SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH THE CURRENT ENGLISH- SYNTHESIZER LED ELECTRONIC ...”

–LIAM LACEY, CANADIAN GLOBE & MAIL 1982

EDMTCC.COM What is “EDM”? The answer from top brands, and virtually to this question is not the every segment of the entertain- purpose of this paper, but is ment industry is looking to cap- a relevant topic all the same. italize on the “DJ”, but this rise The earliest recorded use of to fame is one that did not hap- the term is from a 1982 band pen overnight. EDM has long review. since been an early adopter of technology; Beatport launched “THE MUSIC HAS SOMETHING IN COMMON WITH THE in 2004, less than one year after CURRENT ENGLISH SYNTHESIZER- LED ELECTRONIC the launch of the iTunes store DANCE MUSIC, RANGING AT TIMES FROM THE MOODY in 2003. The strength of the SWEEPING ELECTRONIC EFFECTS OF THE NEW ORDER culture in this space of music TO THE BRIGHT, SWEET POP OF DEPECHE MODE.” is staggering, with events like Electric Daisy Carnival drawing –LIAM LACEY, CANADIAN GLOBE & MAIL 1982 400k+ in attendance. Major There are instances of marquis services perpetually struggle DJs like Paul van Dyk referring with the future of curation in to “” as a virtual space. The ability to early as 2003. Today EDM is masterfully curate has been a primarily a way for the recent mainstay of DJ and EDM cul- phenomenon to be packaged ture since the beginning. This up for public media, where art- skill has been reinvented in the ists like Skrillex, Pretty Lights digital age with streaming ser- and Armin Van Buren are vices like 22tracks and brands thrown together despite the like UKF building businesses fact that the music they play is around their ability to provide very different. For the purpos- the right music to the right es of this research EDM refers people in the right way. to culture and community, as The goal of this paper is to well as the related music, both provide a resource for the mu- , and sub-genres. sic industry, DJ’s, producers Even though this movement and super fans that will offer in- in music appears relatively new sights on the evolution, depth to much of the public, it is root- and sustainability of EDM. Ad- ed in a much deeper story. This ditionally, it is hoped that this story of EDM is best told look- research will encourage others ing through the lenses of Tech- to continue the dialogue on nology, Culture and Curation these topics and explore them with the following overarching in new and interesting ways. themes: It is important to note that the ADOPTION OF overall focus pertains primarily TECHNOLOGY to EDM in the US, the discus- STRENGTH OF CULTURE sion of EDM in other countries POWER OF CURATION is limited to only when relevant The multi-billion dollar glob- to a particular theme. al industry is drawing interest

5 1.1 SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST Dance Darwinism There can hardly be any bet- culture, music and professionals ter motivation for listening to a have flourished outside the more school of music than the age-old conventional models of the mu- my-parents-just-don’t-get-it man- sic business. tra. Factors like this, coupled with Several key events contributed the level of widespread accep- to the decline of recorded music. tance the culture offers create a These events also provided an very unique social atmosphere. opportunity for early adopters In addition to the social phenom- of the internet and digital mu- enon surrounding EDM, there is sic to excel. Unlike other genres a Darwinian element behind the (e.g., Pop) bound to a major label success of the . The current structure, EDM had the flexibility state of EDM is the result of its ear- and technical prowess to make ly adoption of their music more accessible to as well as its resilience during the the masses via download and decline of recorded music. The streaming.

6 DAFT PUNK ALBUM CERT RIAA PLATINUM

BILLBOARD TOP ARTISTS 10% EDM

BILLBOARD HOT 100 20% EDM TRACKS

DIGITAL OVERTAKES 2014 PHYSICAL IN RECORDED RECORDED 2013 MUSIC (US) MUSIC LAUNCH (US) TIMELINE 2012 EDMTCC.COM 2011 US RECORDED 2011 MUSIC SALES DROP 15% (IFPI) SPOTIFY 1 LAUNCH 982 990 999 (SE) 20 0 2001 1 1 1 2003 2005 2008 2008

YOUTUBE LAUNCH ITUNES US LAUNCH

STEVE JOBS INTRODUCES iPOD SHUTS DOWN (80M USERS) NAPSTER DEBUTS BIRTH OF MP3 ALLOWS AUDIO COMPACT SHARING DISC SET AS INDUSTRY

7 DIGITAL VS PHYSICAL ALBUM SALES Source: SoundScan

EDM RAP ROCK YEAR DGTL PHYS DGTL PHYS DGTL PHYS

2013 62% 38% 51% 49% 44% 56% 2012 56% 44% 44% 56% 42% 58% 2011 49% 51% 35% 65% 37% 63% 2010 40% 60% 26% 74% 32% 68% 2009 32% 68% 19% 81% 25% 75% 2008 28% 72% 12% 88% 19% 81% 2007 20% 80% 7% 93% 13% 87% 2006 10% 90% 4% 96% 8% 92%

Following the adoption of the declines in recorded music artists like Fatboy Slim and The CD as the principle format revenue that have lasted until Prodigy in the late 90’s and for music consumption, the present day. most recently with Daft Punk’s recorded ex- Given the ongoing challeng- Random Access Memories*. perienced a time of massive es in recorded music sales, the As a result, the genre as a whole growth. In addition to custom- industry continues to pursue never garnered significant ers purchasing new music, they effective ways to supplement major label support similar to were also replacing their exist- with ancillary revenue streams that of other genres. This has ing collection of vinyl, 8 track like brand partnerships and changed in recent years, with tapes and cassettes with CDs. enhanced focus on direct to major labels eyeing the genre However, the vast majority of fan. However, in the midst of with more interest. However, these CDs were unprotected these events is a genre of mu- according to SoundScan, most from anyone with a CD drive sic that never relied on record major EDM artists will top out and the know-how to rip the sales as the primary revenue around 500k albums or less. audio content to their comput- stream. In a sense it was al- Avicii’s True only sold 178k in ers. Hardware, software, and ready positioned to foster in an 2013 and Skrillex’s widely suc- format () eventually con- environment when the days of cessful Bangarang stalled at verged to create the perfect $18 CD sales ceased to exist. 426k in 2012 (Source: Sound- storm at the turn of the cen- There have been a few exam- Scan). There are some stand- tury, leading to the significant ples of platinum albums from out examples with platinum

*870k units in 2013, certified platinum in Feb 2014 8 singles coming from artists like David Guetta, Calvin Harris and Skrillex. In 2013 Avicii’s “Wake Me Up!” was Universal’s #3 highest grossing track at 8M copies sold. Baauer’s “Harlem Shake” was the top streamed track of 2013 at 489,674,000 streams*. Although EDM is primarily a digital singles market in terms of volume, its album sales are very telling of the genre’s adoption of technology. According to Sound- Scan, EDM has been the number one music genre in digital album sales relative to other genres since they started tracking digital album sales by genre in 2006 (see table on pg. 8). Another area of notable suc- cess for EDM in recorded music is compilation sales from labels like Ultra Music, since the early 2000’s.

“PEOPLE JUST WANT IT HANDED TO THEM RATHER THAN THINK OR FIND ANYTHING NEW THEMSELVES. THEY JUST WANT AN INSTANT COLLECTION OF A CERTAIN STYLE.” – Patrick Moxey, Founder of Ultra Music (Billboard March 2003)

The point Moxey, now Presi- dent of Dance/ (Sony), makes was true then with early series like Ultra.Dance and Ultra.Trance and has remained a constant with current series like Ultra Deep House and Ultra Hits. The success of compilations is not limited to legacy EDM labels like Ultra Music. It is also a part of current trends with compilations like UKF Bass Culture and All Trap Music consistently topping the Dance album chart on iTunes.

*Streams include data from multiple audio and video services including AOL, Cricket, Medianet, Rhapsody, Rdio, Slacker, Spotify, YouTube/Vevo and Zune 9 1.2 DISCO TO THE DROP EDM on the Charts

While EDM’s current presence on on the charts and push the mu- the charts today is arguably one sic further into the mainstream. of the strongest in terms of vol- ume and sustainability, it is also “PROBABLY NOT SINCE THE DISCO ERA HAVE WE SEEN part of a cycle dating back several THIS LEVEL OF SUSTAINABILITY FOR DANCE MUSIC ON decades. Freestyle music like Ste- THE CHARTS. SIMILARLY TO DISCO, EDM IS MORE THAN vie B and Exposé in the mid-late A GENRE, IT IS A CULTURAL MOVEMENT INCORPORAT- 80’s charted on both the Dance ING ELEMENTS OF FASHION AND MORE.” and Hot 100 charts. In the ear- ly 90’s tracks like “James Brown -SILVIO PIETROLUONGO DIRECTOR OF CHARTS FOR BILLBOARD MAGAZINE is Dead” by L.A. Style peaked at #59 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and In the past two years, EDM #4 on Hot Dance Club Songs. singles have become a staple In the past decade it is arguable in Billboard’s year-end chart as- that producers like Timbaland sessment. Approximately 15- ushered in a lot of EDM influence 20% of the year-end Hot 100 for and popularity through tracks like 2012 and 2013 consisted of EDM “Promiscuous” (2006) and “Give It tracks. Top Artists saw a 100% To Me” (2007). However, the true increase in 2013, with 10 EDM pioneer for charting this recent artists making the year-end list wave of EDM is David Guetta, versus 5 in 2012. The presence of collaborating on tracks like “I albums is minimal with 2013 only Gotta Feeling” (Black Eyed Peas) including Daft Punk’s Random and ongoing collaborations with Access Memories in the year-end some of the biggest pop stars on 200 album list. Although this as- the planet. These collaborations sessment evidences the signifi- coupled with his solo success of cant presence of EDM artists and tracks like “The World is Mine” tracks in popular music, album (#1 Hot Dance Airplay, 2007) sales are still lagging significantly help solidify EDM as a regular when compared to other genres.

Note: Billboard does not segment their year-end review by genre, the methodology utilized to create these statistics reviewed the year-end Hot 100 based on production style in order to count as an EDM track. The year-end artist and album count was limited to those artists, which are primarily an EDM DJ or producer.

10 1.3 A REAL LIFE VIDEO GAME The environment for today’s video game. This music also EDM fan is vastly different from has a tension and release in that of 10-20 years ago. From the arrangements that is ex- social media to gaming devic- tremely appealing for bring- es, today’s fan has grown up ing people together.” immersed in technology. This –Brian Long, can be seen through an array Founder of Astralwerks of cultural and creative exam- Every generation has a genre ples, from Deadmau5’s Space of music for kids to claim as Invaders tattoo to Porter Rob- their own – 20 years ago that inson MMORPGs (massively genre was hip-hop – today it is multiplayer online role-play- EDM. What better way to cap- ing games) inspired album, tivate a generation engrossed Worlds. in a daily routine of stimulating “Today’s EDM shows give technology, than with lasers, fans music and visuals on ste- mau5 (mouse) heads and soul roids, basically like a real life shaking drops? 1.4 $6.2 BILLION GLOBAL INDUSTRY According to the 2014 IMS gross revenue for the top 10 Jay-Z, Kanye West and Katy Business Report, the annual DJs went from $241 million in Perry. At this pace, a $100 mil- global EDM industry is growing 2013 to $268 million in 2014, lion DJ in the next few years is fast. At $6.2 billion the global an increase of 11%. Not as dra- possible, if not probable. EDM industry has grown 38% matic as the 93% increase from Utilizing these estimates up from $4.5 billion in 2013, 2012 to 2013, but does indi- even further for a hypotheti- an increase of only 12.5% from cate a sustained steady climb. cal example, if the Electronic 2012. Of the $6.2B total, 68% The #1 slot for 2014 is a repeat Cash Kings only played gigs or $4.2B is attributed to live with Calvin Harris topping the in the US, they would make up revenue from club gigs and list at $66 million, up 43% from approximately 2.3%* of all live festival appearances. To pro- 2013. This year Harris further revenue. This may not seem vide some context to that num- lengthened the gap to the run- like a huge percentage, but ber, the entire live music indus- ner-up position by more than this is only 13 DJs in a country try in the US totaled $8.9B for doubling Guetta’s $30 million of over 300 million. Please note 2013 (Source: PwC Outlook total. In 2013 Harris grossed that this calculation is derived Report). $46 million, more than dou- from three different sources, as Forbes recently issued their bling Tiësto’s $22 million for indicated in the footnote be- third installment of ‘Electron- 2012. At $46M in 2013, Harris low. ic Cash Kings’ showing that surpassed superstar artists like

*Total Electronic Cash Kings 305M x 68% (Est. Live Percentage from IMS) / 8.9B (PwC) = 2.33%

11 ELECTRONIC CASH KINGS EDMTCC.COM

$200

$300 $100 $50

$ 268MILLION $25 $75 2014

$ 66MILLION

$0 $400 $0 $100 TOP 10 DJs # 1-CALVIN HARRIS

11%

GROWTH $200 43% GROWTH

$300 $100 $50

$ 241MILLION $25 $75 2013 $ 46MILLION

$0 $400 $0 $100 TOP 10 DJs # 1-CALVIN HARRIS

93%

GROWTH $200 109% GROWTH

$300 $100 $50

$125 MILLION $25 $75

2012 $22 MILLION

$0 $400 $0 $100 TOP 10 DJs #1-TIESTO

SOURCE : FORBES 12 1.5 GOING PUBLIC SFX Entertainment What is the true strength and lon- terCard. SFX is also a key partner gevity for this music and culture? in Syco Entertainment’s ‘Ultimate SFX Entertainment is betting DJ’ reality show. heavily that EDM is a core seg- The overall financial perfor- ment of the mainstream and will mance of SFX has waned since the be for sometime. An IPO for an IPO in Oct 2013 with share price EDM conglomerate of this kind and market cap both down sig- signifies that pure business pro- nificantly. Q2 2014 revenues con- fessionals (e.g., investors) believe tinue to increase $82M (+199%), that EDM is a strategic investment but are accompanied by deep- for continued growth and profits. ening losses $43.7M (+78%). Robert Sillerman continues to Given the ongoing acquisitions acquire companies as building and deal-making, it appears they blocks for an end-to-end plat- have significant commitment to form serving every segment of a long play for electronic music the EDM community. SFX ac- culture (dubbed EMC by SFX). quired Beatport in March 2013 Financial performance is not for $58.6M. The company’s IPO very telling of success or failure in October 2013 raised $260M, given the youth of the company. which was used to complete pur- The EDM community has been chases of the following: ID&T at built over a significant amount of $130M, i-Motion at $21M, Totem time and its patrons are deeply OneLove Group $69.1M and connected to the authenticity of Made Event $35M. SFX has also the music, events and culture. acquired ticketing companies There is significant evidence of Flavorus and Paylogic, which will how the fans of this music are assist in building out core busi- “hypersocial” when compared to ness processes needed to sup- other genres. A public company port their live event acquisitions. does not have the luxury to focus Equally impressive to their solely on the fans. The positive in- acquisitions are the global part- dicators for SFX will be if they are nerships SFX has secured. The able to maintain the EDM integ- company has partnered with rity their subsidiaries were built companies like AB InBev (Coro- on, with a rise in market cap and na), viagogo, T-Mobile and Mas- share price to follow.

13 1.6 A USB STICK IS ALL THE GEAR I NEED One dramatic difference in in one night. The simple setup the rise of EDM versus oth- available in EDM is why DJ’s er genres is the logistics. DJs like Aoki can play 270 gigs in have the flexibility to show up a year. with only a usb stick and play a Some of the more elaborate six figure club night or possibly EDM shows will have gear that two. These logistics are much travels with them from one ven- more complicated for a tradi- ue to the next, and production tional band of similar caliber costs can be significant for larg- and revenue potential. er shows and festivals. Howev- Additionally, the cost struc- er, the flexibility most DJs have ture is drastically different. A in terms of logistics and lower club owner only needs to buy overhead costs places them at one pair of the latest CDJs (CD a significant advantage to a tra- version of turntables used for ditional band. Although vinyl mixing tracks) until a prefer- sales have grown significantly able model comes out, they in recent years, it is a rarity to break or Steve Aoki drops cake see DJs spinning vinyl records. on them. A marquis rock band Digital DJ controllers, laptops, has a much more cumbersome CDJs and several hybrid setups stage set up of instruments, are the norm, and most of them mics, amps, and more, that fit in a backpack, or will already must travel with them to each be waiting at the venue. Tech- show. More complex logistics nology has created an envi- for the respective artist or band ronment where in many cases eliminates the opportunity to a usb stick is all the gear a DJ play multiple high paying gigs needs.

14 TECHNOLOGY: 303, 808, 909 “JUST TO GET TO THE POINT WHERE YOU HAD A FINISHED PIECE OF ELECTRONIC MUSIC TOOK A LONG TIME, A LOT OF MONEY, A LOT OF EFFORT, AND A LOT OF UNDERSTANDING OF HOW ALL THESE PIECES OF EQUIPMENT WORKED WITH EACH OTHER.”

–MOBY, PRESSPAUSEPLAY (MOVIE) EDMTCC.COM The genesis of EDM has been not as prevalent in other genres. rooted in early adoption of In many interviews DJs and pro- technology. As mentioned pre- ducers self-proclaim their geek- viously, EDM has the largest dom. proportion of digital albums sales relative to other genres. “THIS IS WHAT MANY PEOPLE DON’T SEE, BUT IT’S VERY In 2013 EDM sold 62% digi- MUCH PART OF THE ARTIST’S LIFE. ACTUALLY WE ARE ALL tal albums, compared to Rock GREAT BIG NERDS WHO PLAY ON THEIR LITTLE COMPUT- (44%), R&B/Hip-hop (41%) and ERS ALL DAY LONG. AND AT NIGHT THEY CAN PRESENT IT Pop (38%). But even more sig- nificant than distributing and AND CAN JUMP AROUND HAPPILY.” selling EDM is the technolog- - DON DIABLO, DUTCH INFLUENCE (MOVIE) ical roots of making the music in its stages of infancy. The gear was also very expen- “Just to get to the point where sive, further indicating the pro- you had a finished piece of elec- ducer’s commitment and passion tronic music took a long time, a to create those sounds that have lot of money, a lot of effort, and shaped EDM for decades. a lot of understanding of how ROLAND TR-808 ’80 $1195 all these pieces of equipment ($3392 adjusted for inflation) worked with each other.” ROLAND TB-303 ’82 $395 –Moby, PressPausePlay (Movie) ($958 adjusted for inflation) Entire genres are defined by ROLAND TR-909 ’83 $1195 a piece of gear. One of the most ($2807 adjusted for inflation) iconic examples is the Roland This affinity for technology, TB-303 as the backbone of acid coupled with early tool devel- house. With a little twisting of opments for the genre, gave the knobs, a piece of equipment EDM DJ/Producer the incentive originally intended for creating to fully champion recorded mu- straightforward bass lines trans- sic’s transition to digital. formed the way electronic music The timeline on the follow- would sound throughout history. ing page profiles a conver- The same could be said for the gence of technological ad- infamous “clap” put forth by Ro- vances and cultural events land’s TR-909. Groups like Orbit- that coincide with the previ- al were performing “live” when ous ‘Recorded Music Timeline’. it was still a painstaking process Within this timeline there are of routing together massive five core technological advance- amounts of wire and tempera- ments that will be profiled for mental analog gear. Point being their ability to serve as a sustain- that an affinity to technology was able catalyst for the EDM com- ingrained in this music well be- munity. fore every studio had abandoned ABLETON LIVE (PRODUCE) analog tape for the latest version SERATO (PLAY) of Pro Tools. BEATPORT (SELL) Electronic music lends itself to SOUNDCLOUD (SHARE) a fantastic level of geekery that is DUBSET (LICENSE)

16 ROLAND ROLAND TB-303

1982 PIONEER CDJ BY

1994 FIRST DJ STUDIO TRAKTOR EDMTCC.COMTIMELINE AND CULTURE TECHNOLOGY EDM 1997 (PRE-CURSOR PITCH n’TIME TO SETARO)

2000 ABLETON LIVE 2001

2003 SCRATCH SCRATCH FINAL SERATO LIVE 2004

2004 BEATPORT 2007 20 20 20 20 2012 2008 SOUND- DUBSET CLOUD 1 1 1 1 1 0 4 3 FM LICENSE GRANTED RINSE FM GRAMMY MANCES PERFOR- EDM “POP CULTURE” 489,674,000 WMG DEAL MADEON CLOUD + STREAMS SOUND- HARLEM SHAKE- VIDEO VEGAS ATTENDANCE EDC - 400K 2.1 ABLETON LIVE (PRODUCE) Although Ableton Live has a $100. When paired with Able- variety of uses, in its early years ton and a few sample packs, it was mostly used as an inno- the possibilities are endless. vative production tool with Now anyone has the means minimal learning curve. Free (though perhaps not the skill) versions of the software were to become the next Sasha or offered as an add-on when Richie Hawtin. This has fostered purchasing studio gear. With an immense amount of creativ- little to no background in pro- ity and growth, and the broad- duction, users could produce ened age range of producers beats and tracks in a relatively and perpetual variation of short amount of time. Able- genres is additional evidence ton offered a building block of this shift. Madeon was only approach to production that 17 when he created the “Pop supported the spectrum from Culture” video, a quintessential novice to professional. Wide- representation of how acces- spread adoption of Ableton sible production tools are for as a standard live performance today’s youth. tool was some years away when Producers like Madeon are it first launched. However, the becoming the norm, not the ability to “produce” tracks and anomaly. UK based electronic beats had been significantly al- music duo Bondax started re- tered for the industry. ceiving notoriety on BBC Radio Currently, the barrier to en- 1 before either of them was try for utilizing Ableton Live for 20yrs old. Martin Garrix (NL) live sets is essentially non-exis- was noted in Billboard’s 21 un- tent. The Novation Launchpad der 21 in Sep 2013 at age 17. Mini is available on for

18 2.2 SERATO (PLAY) Equally important to accessible experimenting with the idea and intuitive production tools of “scratching” audio with a is the way in which DJs can play mouse. Scratching in tradition- the tracks produced for an au- al turntablism is a technique dience. Historically, DJs used where the DJ manipulates the vinyl records to perform. Vinyl record and mixer during spe- will always be a cornerstone for cific parts of the track to create the DJ, but there have always a rhythmic scratching audio been a few issues. Vinyl is rela- effect. Through some blood, tively expensive and heavy, re- sweat and a lot of scratching ally heavy. More than a decade the company eventually devel- ago, the precursor to Serato, oped Serato NoiseMap, which Pitch N’ Time, was developed. provided the right feel to emu- It provided a way to slow down late traditional scratching. Ser- bass lines making them eas- ato was introduced to the DJ ier to practice. Pitch N’ Time mixer manufacturer Rane at the eventually became a market NAMM (National Association leader as a time-stretching and of Music Merchants) confer- pitch-shifting plug-in. ence in the early 2000’s. Serato Around the turn of the mil- partnered with Rane to assist lennium, the company began with making standalone boxes

19 to house their NoiseMap tech- ept in music’s , tags, ing the standard fields of Ser- nology. In 2004 Serato Scratch organization and genre classi- ato DJ to the key elements of Live was born. Scratch Live has fication. Arming the whole of Gracenote Rhythm, we see that since been replaced by Serato the EDM industry with this kind most of these have been core DJ (announced Sept 2013). of knowledge also assisted in components of the Serato plat- During a time when the equipping them with the right form since the beginning. Gra- whole of the music industry was tools to fully leverage digital cenote claims to maintain “the still wrapping its head around distribution (e.g., Beatport). largest source of audio and “digital” and in many cases The DJ’s job is to find and video metadata on the planet”, struggling to fully embrace play the right music for the which will no doubt provide the future, a digital revolution right people at the right time, some amazing horsepower for took place in the hands of the which means systematic cate- their Rhythm API. However, the most critical touch point for gorization and filing (physically fact that DJs have been lever- EDM (the DJ). This was not 2-3 or digitally) is critical during a aging these “main categories” years ago. Serato Scratch Live live set. Accurate categoriza- for a decade is another indica- first became available to DJs a tion and selection has also be- tor of how this community has decade ago. In addition to pro- come a key focus of streaming been building an extremely viding an alternative to hauling services and data companies strong foundation in the digi- vinyl and organizing catalogs today, which is evident in the tal space unique from all other of CDs, by default Serato forc- enhanced focus on “curation” genres in the industry. es the DJ to become more ad- in recent years. When compar-

GRACENOTE RHYTHM SERATO DJ 6 MAIN CATEGORIES FIELD SET

GENRE OF THE SONG GENRE FILENAME COMMENTS KEY MOOD GROUPING LABEL ARTIST TYPE YEAR LENGTH BPM LOCATION ERA THE SONG WAS RECORDED ADDED REMIXER ALBUM SAMPLERATE ARTIST SIZE ORIGIN OR REGION MOST BITRATE TRACK ASSOCIATED WITH THE ARTIST (N/A) COMPOSER VIDEO TRACK

The competitive landscape for musical choice combined with music. Utilizing Serato as the Serato has become more sub- growth in the hardware utiliz- digital foundation, their shows stantial in recent years. During ing the software has spawned present elements of tradition- this formative period Serato a level of innovation for a DJ’s al instrumentation (keyboards, was considered the industry live setup that only continues drums) combined with scratch standard in digital DJing, and to evolve. Bands like Toronto DJing and live remixing for still is by many. Serato allowed based Keys N Krates contin- original and sampled record- DJ’s to “play” gigs in a way that ue to push the boundaries of ings. offered an infinite crate (i.e., what is possible in a live per- music library). This depth of formance of electronic dance

20 2.3 BEATPORT (SELL) Simply described Beatport is EDM track released for purchase tracks aids Beaport in further “the iTunes of EDM.” Howev- is available through the service. honing search, discovery and er, one key difference is that Audio file formats available are curation of their EDM catalog. the former does not allow the MP3 (320kbps), AIFF and WAV. As mentioned previously, SFX same amount of access to their In addition, Beatport sells sam- acquired the company in March service. In short, not every EDM ple packs and stems, which grew 2013, thus giving the platform track gets on Beatport. Beat- from $600k (2010) to $6 million a wealth of opportunity for port has a strict vetting process (2012). In its 10 years of exis- growth. In February 2013, Beat- through their distribution ser- tence the all-time top seller on port and audio identification vice, Baseware, and partnered the service is Deadmau5, with service announced a distributors like Ditto Music to Martin Garrix leading the charge partnership that would provide help maintain the integrity of in 2014. Shazam access to the audio im- their digital store. In addition to tracks, samples prints of Beatport’s catalog. Beatport’s current catalog is and stems, Beatport offers ad- The platform has provided a greater than 3.5 million tracks ditional services such as gear, dedicated avenue for the EDM from over 31,000 labels. The ser- merchandise, desktop apps and community to “sell” and discov- vice’s free music previews gen- more. Tools like Beatport Pro er music since 2004, less than erate approximately 4 million utilize the service’s DJ and con- a year after iTunes launched in streams daily, primarily driven sumer community for initiatives the US. The store’s ability to su- by its electronic music charts. like expanded ID3 tagging that per-serve the DJ and EDM com- In 2013 Beatport had approxi- allows users to tag tracks with munity was another key compo- mately 43 million unique visitors, multiple genres, mood, BPM, nent in laying the groundwork including 220,000 registered key, rating and energy level. This for EDM’s domestic and interna- DJs. Virtually any noteworthy additional contextualization of tional success.

21 2.4 SOUNDCLOUD (SHARE) SoundCloud has openly de- Users can find most every mediary (e.g., digital distribu- clared that it wants to be the genre of music on the service, tor). SoundCloud’s innovations YouTube of audio. The social as- but EDM is king in terms of ful- also overlap during a period pects of the platform positioned ly leveraging the maximum po- where internet bandwidth and it in a way that allowed a level tential of the platform. Of the 36 connectivity constraints have of interaction focused specifi- music genres listed in Sound- started to become nullified. cally on audio that was new and Cloud’s ‘Explore’ (section dedi- Earlier this year SoundCloud needed, especially for EDM. cated to discovery and trends), announced plans to monetize Launched in 2008 the compa- almost half are electronic music through advertising and even- ny has grown to bolster statistics, genres. Compare (DJ/ tually launch a subscription ser- such as approximately 12hrs of Producer) at 356k followers to vice. Although the service had audio uploaded every minute Beyoncé at 703k. To provide secured several partnerships, and 175 million unique listeners some additional context, Beyon- licensing discussions with the each month. Analytics provider cé has approximately 64 million three major labels had stalled Next Big Sound tracked approxi- Facebook fans where Skream until the recent announcement mately 8 billion plays in 2013, an only has 530k. Although dom- of a partnership with Warner increase of 1125% from 2012. inated by EDM, top tier artists Music Group. Warner will be- When comparing the first eight like Justin Timberlake (5.8M fol- come part of the ad-support- months of 2014 to the same lowers) have seen the potential ed program “On SoundCloud” time period in 2013, plays are and are leveraging the service (launched August 2014) and up 357% at just over 12 billion. for album promotions. the subscription service set for Of the audio uploaded, 90% are SoundCloud provides intu- launch in 2015. Although deals played with most being played itive functionality as an audio like this are somewhat encour- the same day and more than repository and player. However, aging, it still begs the question 50% within the first hour. In a the socialization of this audio of how much user generat- given hour the service reaches sets SoundCloud apart. The abil- ed content will continue to be 200+ countries. The company ity to “share” your comments, flagged for copyright compli- was valued at $700M earlier this tracks and mixes with fully em- ance? A streamlined and scal- year company and has raised a beddable players has given the able technology to legitimately total of $160M in funding since EDM community a dedicated license DJ mixes, remixes and January. audio outlet requiring no inter- mashups is still in need.

22 2.5 DUBSET MEDIA HOLDINGS (LICENSE)

Dubset Media Holdings (Dubset) lowing three-pronged approach is the parent company founded in to resolving this problem: Mix- 2008 with a straightforward vision BANK (content ingestion), MixS- focused on allowing DJs to legally CAN (audio fingerprinting) and sell mixes or mixtapes. Since that The Future FM (consumer facing time Dubset has evolved into an distribution). The most critical overarching holding company component for monetization is that is comprised of multiple ser- MixSCAN, as it could enable a vices and technologies. scalable solution for licensing and One type of audio content you monetization previously unavail- will not see coming from subscrip- able. Where other services have tion based streaming services is worked to monetize mixes within DJ mixes. No one has adequately their respective site or platform, tackled rights management and Dubset’s MixSCAN looks to deliv- distribution of this content. Of er a globally scalable technology course you can listen to mixes on that could be implemented into a countless number of legal plat- a variety of digital retailer and forms, but monetization of these streaming services. mixes has been something of a Dubset secured a strategic in- pipe dream until now. According vestment from Rhapsody Inter- to Dubset, several billion tracks national as part of their Series B will be downloaded, streamed round of funding. Monetization of and shared within DJ mixes in mixes through a scalable platform 2014, without royalties paid or or API could revolutionize reve- DJs being compensated. nue streams for DJs, producers The company provides the fol- and many others.

23 CULTURE: Big Beat to Main Street

“IT’S AMAZING THAT PEOPLE IN AMERICA FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT THE REST OF THE WORLD WAS DOING FOR SO LONG.”

–PASQUALE ROTELLA, FOUNDER OF INSOMNIAC EVENTS (POLLSTAR LIVE! 2012)

EDMTCC.COM ANOTHER KEY FACTOR THAT SET THE public demand of records, and STAGE FOR EDM TO TAKE THE SPOTLIGHT to meet said demand EDM has supported its fan base and IS THE CULTURAL STRENGTH OF THE growing culture through inde- MANY PEOPLE SUPPORTING THE GENRES pendent labels, pirate radio and UNDER ITS OVERARCHING UMBRELLA. live events. Many EDM festivals It is unfair to broadly describe (including EDC) also support the culture of EDM as one uni- their fans with cutting edge fied group of people. The an- technology and apps through thropology of EDM contains partnerships with companies different cultures and subcul- like Nashville based Aloompa. tures for genres like , Well before the EDM explo- house and bass music. But re- sion of today, independent la- gardless of genre, EDM lends bels like Astralwerks (founded itself to being more tribal than 1993) were signing “Big Beat” most other types of music. The acts like Fatboy Slim and The techno scene at Peter Ga- Chemical Brothers. This was tien’s Limelight (NY) in the 90’s during a time in the US when and the success of festivals like signing these acts would have Electric Daisy Carnival today been considered extremely both exemplify this cultural dy- risky. This DIY (do it yourself) namic. It feels good to belong mentality and commitment to somewhere or to something the music and culture of EDM and EDM provides an avenue provided the label with the sus- for this through its long his- tainability to work with modern tory as a live supported music day DJ superstars like Eric Prydz open to a diverse and eclectic and newcomers on the rise like mix of people. Public demand Australia based Alison Wonder- of music does not always mean land.

25 3.1 DUTCH DOMINANCE The Dutch take the profession timate of 10% of DJ revenue pact of EDM for the Nether- of DJ/producer very seriously being derived from recorded lands,” noted that in a span as a core component of the music sales, we can estimate of a decade, the Netherlands economy and entertainment that the NL Electronic Cash experienced a 20% growth industry and have for some Kings (3 DJs) could account in the EDM industry at home time, with companies like for approximately 3.6% of the and abroad totaling €587M ID&T starting in the early 90’s. Netherlands total recorded ($805M) for festivals, events, Dutch crowds are also no- music revenue of $205.6M. tourism and recorded music toriously difficult to play for, For the first time sinceForbes sales. According to the study which serves as an amazing started providing the Elec- “Dutch EDM going global has training ground for the DJs tronic Cash Kings report the its clear impact on the eco- growing up there. Their re- Netherlands ($75M) grossed nomic significance of EDM for sources and passion for this more than the US ($57M), the Netherlands.” music are so intensely effec- compared to 2013 US ($72M) Based on DJ Mag’s 2014 tive that they seem to have a versus NL ($67M). Top 100 DJ List, 31 of 100 are permanent home as the top Tiësto may have put it best Dutch including 4 of the top country of EDM. in a graphic he tweeted paro- 5. Hardwell (NL) owns the #1 Forbes 2014 ‘Electronic dying the prominence of the spot for the second consec- Cash Kings’ list of DJs includ- Dutch in today’s EDM industry utive year. A Dutchman has ed four Dutchmen with gross (see above). taken the top spot on the DJ revenues totaling $75 Million. A study released in 2012, List in 10 out of the last 13 Based on a conservative es- entitled “The economic im- years.

26 DJ MAG’S 2014 TOP 100 DJS BY COUNTRY* EDMTCC.COM

31 8 5 15 5 4 3 3 4 3

NL

US

S E

FR GB DE IT AU CA BE

DUTCH

ITALIAN

FRENCH

GERMAN

BELGIAN

ENGLISH

SWEDISH

AMERICAN

CANADIAN

AUSTRALIAN

*CHART ONLY INCLUDES TOP 10 COUNTRIES MAKING UP 81/100 OF THE DJ MAG TOP 100 DJS FOR 2014 3.2 RINSE FM Rinse FM is another instance quency in 2010, after 5 years of of where the culture, commu- Sarah “Soulja” Lockhart spear- nity and passion around elec- heading the efforts. tronic dance music provided The station has fostered mu- the strength and sustainability sic from several iconic DJs and well before mainstream recog- producers, such as , Diz- nition. zy Rascal, Skream and Kode9. The strength of EDM culture Their imprint label Rinse Re- takes shape in many differ- cordings saw its first chart suc- ent forms, but there are pivot cess through ’s Katy on a points that happen around Mission. In 1994 Geeneus start- the development of specific ed the Rinse family from very genres of music. In the case of humble beginnings of skating genres like jungle, garage and around tower block build- in the UK, Rinse FM is ings, stashing FM transmitters the epitome of organic cultural and trying not to get nicked growth. The pirate radio station (arrested). Now they are fully eventually realized mainstream recognized as one of the most recognition and acceptance by influential radio stations and obtaining a legitimate FM fre- brands in global EDM culture.

28 3.3 ELECTRIC DAISY CARNIVAL Insomniac Events

Insomniac Events has served as From those grassroots in 1997, a frontrunner and catalyst for es- Rotella has built an EDMpire be- tablishing EDM events and cul- yond what he ever imagined. ture in the US since the late 90’s. “NO, I NEVER ENVISIONED IT TO BE THIS BIG. The first EDC was actually held FOR OUR GENRE OF MUSIC I THOUGHT I WAS by Gary Richards (HARD Events) in the mid-90’s. Pasquale Rotel- RETIRED. I ALWAYS TELL THE STORY THAT I la asked Richards’ permission to WOULD TELL KIDS DADDY WAS A COOL use the name for a series of fes- TECHNO DJ AND NOBODY REALLY CARED... tivals he was promoting, which IT’S AMAZING THAT PEOPLE IN AMERICA Richards granted in 1997. FINALLY FIGURED OUT WHAT THE REST OF The 2010 Electric Daisy Carni- THE WORLD WAS DOING FOR SO LONG.” val (EDC) festival that took place in Los Angeles boasted 185,000 - PASQUALE ROTELLA (POLLSTAR LIVE! 2012). attendees making it the largest Insomniac currently has more EDM festival outside of Europe, than a dozen festivals hosted in and could arguably be viewed the US and internationally. Live as the crowning event solidifying Nation purchased a 50% stake in EDM’s rise in the US. This past Insomniac events for an estimat- March, Rotella was named the ed $50 million in 2013. The most second most important person in recent EDC Vegas was estimated EDM by Rolling Stone magazine. to have total attendance in ex- The 2011 documentary Electric cess of 400,000. Rotella’s success Daisy Carnival Experience has through Insomniac provides evi- Will.I.am telling stories of a much dence that true culture cannot be younger Rotella flyering outside manufactured, but can definitely venues. be fostered.

29 3.4 EDM FANS = HYPERSOCIAL Social media is a key focus for These conversations were then equates to approximately 42 bil- anyone trying to build a fan compared against a group of lion potential impressions over base for an event, band, artist 1000 music fans of ten broad the course of a year. or brand. What if your fans were genres (rock, country, etc.). Startups like Cultivora are inherently more active on social EDM fans tweeted 1.85x more building entire business mod- media, simply because of the than the average Twitter user at els around the strength of EDM culture surrounding the music? 11 times a day. Approximately culture. The company serves as a This is exactly the case for EDM; 1/3 of those tweets were about combination travel agent meets the fans are just more engaged EDM. These passionate EDM festival guide for some of the about music, culture and events fans posted about their genre biggest festivals in the world in- with the statistics to back it up. 52% more than the broad genre cluding BPM and Ultra. According to a study pub- music fans. A key part of SoundCloud’s lished by Eventbrite on EDM EDM fans also tweeted about success has been the social na- fans, there is a significant their listening behavior four ture of the platform and how the amount of data validating the times as much as other music EDM community embraced the community’s “hypersocial” fan listeners and generated approx- service above and beyond all base. The study analyzed more imately 72% more conversations other genres. The culture sup- than 70 million relevant English on the major topics in their lives. porting EDM is invested in the social media conversations. The They post about events 30% community and music in a way representative sample consist- more than other music fans, that has always been different, ed of 1000 EDM fans ranging with 1 in 4 posts about EDM oc- and is currently at its peak in to- in a variety of EDM sub-genres. curring during a live event. This day’s music scene.

30 CURATION: DJ = Curator

“IT WAS A SIMPLE IDEA THAT HAS GOTTEN TOTALLY OUT OF HAND.”

–VINCENT REINDERS, 22TRACKS FOUNDER

EDMTCC.COM Playing the right track, at the EDM through record shops right time, for the right people, and whitelabel culture for de- in the right setting, this is the cades. Whitelabel records, also job of the DJ, curation. It is one referred to as promo or boot- of the primary pillars to DJ and leg, have been a key way for EDM culture, and is an integral DJ’s and producers to curate difference that sets the music and share new music through- apart from other genres and out history. In many cases the shows. Just like listeners tune tracks on the record have not into their favorite radio station received the necessary copy- because there is a level of trust right clearances (e.g., bootleg) in knowing that DJ will consis- or the label may want to get a tently play tracks they like, DJs sense of the record’s impact so build that level of trust and it is released as a whitelabeled connection in a live setting for “promo” copy. DJ’s have uti- a few hours or more. lized whitelabels as a symbol When attending a rock show, indicating exclusivity, limited the audience generally has a supply and in many cases high good sense of the catalog of demand. This culture still exists music that will be performed. digitally through services like The Rolling Stones might play SoundCloud (until recently) a few different versions from and Serato’s whitelabel.net. what is on their anthology, or perhaps cover a song or two, CURATION STRETCHES BEYOND THE but the audience is pretty much DJ TO THE EVENTS THEMSELVES, WHICH guaranteed that there will not IS EVIDENCED THROUGH THE LEVEL OF be a series of songs from oth- METICULOUS DETAIL IN CURATING THE er rock bands and musicians EXPERIENCE FOR THE ATTENDEE. interlaced throughout their set. For a DJ set on the other hand, Sensation (NL) is an interna- this is and always has been the tional EDM event where all norm. When DJs are also pro- attendees wear white; their ducers, they will usually play a slogan is “Be Part of the Night set more heavily concentrated – Dress in White”. Upon enter- with their own original tracks. ing participants experience an But there is an innate motiva- ocean of white décor and in- tion amongst DJs and EDM stallations. Events like this and fans to be the first to hear a EDC are an excellent represen- freshly cut track or a remix that tation of how curation touches will never be publicly released. all aspects of the EDM culture This aspect of curation is funda- and community. mental to the culture amongst The sections that follow pro- DJs, as well as to the fans who vide a sample of key compa- attend their shows. nies and brands that exemplify Curation has been pres- curation in EDM. ent in the physical medium of

32 4.1 BOOMRAT EDM’s Switzerland Even with all the services, sites, sheet for each DJ, in addition blogs and channels available to a “tracking” feature to help to EDM fans, there are still op- with organizing your favorite portunities for aggregating key music as well as more tailored bits of information related to recommendations. this music in a neutral setting. However, the really com- In many cases EDM sites and pelling insights from Boomrat news sources are very genre stems from their curation of (e.g., techno) specific, so find- EDM content from over 300+ ing out about new releases and EDM blogs to identify current events for multiple genres can trends for their trending chart be a fragmented experience. (updated hourly). Essentially, Boomrat has set out to solve it is the tastemaker’s tastemak- these issues for the EDM com- er. The platform also includes munity. The company is the first playlists provided by artists, in- ever incubated product team dustry professionals and uber at Live Nation Labs, which was fans. Users can create, share born from a very straightfor- and follow the playlists for in- ward concept. Create a desti- creased engagement and rec- nation for EDM fans that is not ommendations. genre specific and centraliz- Plans for the next phases of es key content for any genre Boomrat will include aggrega- they might be interested in tion of live event data via Live exploring. The site provides a Nation resources, in addition to very clean and responsive one native iOS and Android apps.

33 4.2 UKF New Electronic Music Conscious and creative curation, from the beginning, largely due and 3.8 million likes. connection to audience and at- to the fact that he was a part of Hood was also creative in es- tention to detail have set UKF that same demographic. The tablishing the brand. In the be- apart from other EDM compa- tracks provided have always ginning UKF utilized YouTube nies since the beginning. Almost been exclusive. Even today, virtu- almost solely as an audio stream- cliché to say, but yet again the ally every release that comes out ing platform. Now they provide stage set for a surreal success through UKF is a premiere. This an ongoing stream of video story takes place in the midst of a constant stream of exclusive con- premieres, but in the early days very normal college experience. tent has provided an even more the tracks were presented with a While attending Frome Com- compelling reason for EDM fans static logo or a video of a woof- munity College in his hometown to tune into UKF. The quality of eresque object with some flow- in 2009, Luke Hood started UKF the tracks sparked a viral social- ing wind effects. (United Kingdom Frome) at the ization and organic growth in the The company’s slogan was age of 16. He and some of his early years, according to Hood. previously “Bass Music Connect- friends were looking for an online The viral nature of the channels ed”, but roughly a year ago was destination to listen and share and content is still evident today changed to “New Electronic Mu- some of their favorite tunes. Luke with approximately 3.4% of all sic” given the breadth of genres set-up two YouTube channels plays taking place outside You- UKF is now servicing in addition (Dubstep, ) and Tube through embedded players to bass music. The connection in just over 3 years the aggre- on sites like Facebook and 18% to their fans is an ongoing initia- gate of all UKF YouTube channels of plays on mobile (also including tive where UKF is always seeking crossed 1 billion views in total. non-native plays). For all tracks enhancements. The company’s Curating for his audience was posted in 2013, there have been annual survey covers a gamut of something that Hood captured 685k comments, 750k shares* topics, like the following:

*YouTube warns before November 14, 2013, sharing data did not include shares from logged out users. 34 SAMPLE OF UKF SURVEY RESULTS LATE 2013

AGE RANGE IS PRIMARILY DUBSTEP IS MORE NEARLY 20% OF 35+ YR OLD TEENAGERS TO 24YRS OLD POPULAR IN THE US BY FANS SPEND MORE THAN £25/ (86%), MOSTLY MALE NEARLY 20% MONTH ON VINYL.

FOLLOWERS FROM COUN- UK FANS ARE HEAVIER NEARLY TRIES AS FAR AS GHANA, TWITTER USERS 30% USE BAHRAIN & COLUMBIA WITH THAN US INSTAGRAM THE UK AND US TAKING THE AT LEAST TOP 2 SPOTS DAILY

DRUM N BASS IS THE #1 NEARLY 50% OF EUROPEAN NEARLY 1/4 USE LOVED GENRE FANS DO NOT USE TWITTER SHAZAM AT LEAST WEEKLY

95% ARE SMARTPHONE Challenges with data, specifical- channels and follows a clear and OWNERS (IPHONE 40%, ly artist metadata, have plagued consistent convention for con- SAMSUNG 22%) the music industry for over a de- textualizing each track. Minutia cade. As noted previously, EDM like naming conventions and has maintained a focus on music capitalization is not the most fun metadata since the launch of topic, but it is critical for reach- platforms like Serato and Beat- ing fans today. So much data is port. This forward thinking atten- inaccurate or missing in music tion to detail has given this music that providing the right story and 20% OF RESPONDENTS an advantage on cutting through digital breadcrumbs around your ARE DJS the masses. UKF has leveraged music has become integrally im- metadata extensively in their portant for success.

35 The following example is a good representation of how to be clear, succinct and thorough in your YouTube descriptions.

UKF YOUTUBE METADATA EXAMPLE CHANNEL: UKF Dubstep TITLE: Moody Good – Hotplate (Ft. Knytro) URL: http://youtu.be/ioGPwnzm6Jk

ABOVE THE FOLD (SHOW LESS): Published on Mar 16, 2014 Brand new track from the Moody Good album! Available to pre-order on iTunes: http://bit.ly/N1e5ub

BELOW THE FOLD (SHOW MORE): Published on Mar 16, 2014 Brand new track from the Moody Good album! UKF is now part of AEI Me- Available to pre-order on iTunes: http://bit.ly/N1e5ub dia’s multi-channel network MOODY GOOD (MCN) supporting 5 separate LIKE: http://facebook.com/moodygoodofficial UKF channels, in addition to FOLLOW: http://twitter.com/moodygood affiliate relationships with oth- er channels like SubSoul, All KNYTRO Trap Music, TheSoundYouNeed LIKE: https://www.facebook.com/Knytr0 and Majestic Casual. AEI Me- FOLLOW: https://twitter.com/thisisknytro dia acquired 50% of UKF in 2010, which provided avenues SIGN UP FOR THE UKF NEWSLETTER: for compilation sales (physical http://ukf.com/signup and digital) and cross platform http://www.facebook.com/ukfdubstep http://www.ukfmusic.com builds via SoundCloud and Mix- http://www.twitter.com/UKFLuke Cloud. AEI also took the lead on http://www.twitter.com/UKF building the first UKF website, as well as outreach to strategic brand partners.

36 UKF STATS As of Sep 26, 2014 There are currently 5 YouTube channels that make up the aggregate of UKF

26 SEP VIEWS SUBSCRIBERS JOINED

UKF DUBSTEP 1,283,034,628 5,614,939 APR 29, 2009 UKFDnB 473,339,896 1,566,189 APR 29, 2009 UKF 153,574,658 1,121,211 DEC 2, 2009 UKF MIXES 14,031,383 215,325 OCT 23, 2010 UKF LIVE 4,770,534 73,395 JAN 24, 2011 1,928,751,099 8,591,059

These monstrous stats mean isons like this show how stag- equate to “raging” or “losing that after crossing 1 billion total gering UKF’s success has been. your s#!t”. A simple but pro- views in June 2012 (3+ years This meteoric rise started found mantra that falls inline post launch) the channels have from an uncomplicated mis- with UKF’s 360 degree ap- added well over 900 million sion; curating and distributing proach as a full service experi- views in just over 2 years. For the best dubstep and drum ential brand through content, the period March 2012-2014, and bass tracks to Hood’s merchandise, shows and more. UKF Dubstep had 583 days friends, and their friends, and “MORE THAN JUST PROVIDING FRESH with more than 500k views on their friends’ friends, and so PREMIERES THROUGH OUR CHANNELS, the channel and 138 days with on. Focusing solely on audio WE ARE ABOUT MAKING LASTING AND views greater than 1million and maximizing the impact (Source: Next Big Sound). and scale of YouTube through MEMORABLE EXPERIENCES.” Comparatively Ultra Music areas like metadata positioned – LUKE HOOD, UKF FOUNDER has 2.6 billion views to date the channels for rapid social- Monumental genres like across their 3 channels, but ization and growth. Hood was dubstep are not solidified in launched on YouTube in Oct a fan before he became a EDM everyday, but there inev- 2006, close to 3 years before founder, and the company has itably will be another one. And UKF. They have uploaded always maintained a close con- those fans and followers will 2200+ videos, which is rough- nection with their patrons. need someone to help them ly 400 more than UKF. In ad- As Hood puts it “some- get their fix, just like Hood and dition, Ultra has a massive times you want to just have it team UKF/AEI have done for amount of brand equity, given and dance hard”. For clarifica- a generation of bass music fans the initial company launched tion sake, “have it” translated and countless others seeking in New York in 1995. Compar- to American English would new electronic music.

37 4.3 22TRACKS New Music, the Easy Way 22tracks serves as a substitute Amsterdam. He noticed the for the relationship that was need for showcasing several previously maintained between different genres that were sup- record shop workers and their ported by the DJs working with patrons. Although brick and him at the station. The name mortar shops have found great and premise was born out of difficulties in finding sustain- the fact that Reinders and many ability in the digital world, this other DJ’s standard playlist av- has not removed the people eraged around 20 tracks. From from those markets that valued the very beginning the site re- their services. One of the key ceived significant traffic as the challenges for digital music ini- curators (DJs) already had a tially was providing access. To- trusted fan base. Shortly after day this seems to have been re- the initial launch, the company placed by a curation dilemma. was approached by DJs in oth- 22tracks launched in Amster- er cities that wanted their own dam, NL in October of 2009 city station. The service cur- on the premise of providing rently provides city stations for 22 tracks of 22 genres from 22 Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris and DJ’s. Each playlist rotates ap- . proximately once per month, “It was a simple idea that has with an average of five tracks gotten totally out of hand.” changing each week. This me- – Vincent Reinders, thodical track rotation gives us- 22tracks Founder ers plenty of time to absorb the The user experience is one content. that invites people to make a Vincent Reinders (22tracks permanent home when they Founder) cultivated the initial finally lock into the city and sta- idea for the company while tions that suit them best. Want working at a radio station in to hear 22 of the freshest bass

38 22TRACKS TRAFFIC & REACH

UNIQUE VISITORS TOTAL TOTAL PER SOCIAL AVG TIME STREAMS REACH MONTH FANS ON SITE PER YEAR 8 MIL 1 MIL 150 K+ 34 MIN 80 MIL

*Estimated reach and unique visitors also includes the reach of the 120 DJs servicing 22tracks tunes in London? No problem. imately 30% of total revenue. throughout Europe, such as Looking to chill out for a bit? The remaining 10% is made up Live Nation and ID&T festivals. Try Amsterdam ‘Relax’. These of 22tracks merchandise sales. The service does a good stations are a window into the “The opportunity to create job of making the ads effec- heart of each city’s musicali- experiences through brands tive but not intrusive, which is ty and culture, and they are is something that has been a challenge beyond boutique programmed by a stellar list exciting for us as a compa- services like 22tracks. It is of industry veterans. Having a ny, and has inspired us to something that major stream- song selected by these DJs is further explore 22tracks ing services struggle with on an not only a great promotional branded events as well.” ongoing basis. tool, but it is also a stamp of – Gilles de Smit, 22tracks Through a partnership with approval in the community that Co-Founder & CEO Internet Explorer the compa- supports that specific genre. The company offers a vari- ny launched version 2.0 of the Although each genre playlist is ety of advertising options via platform earlier this year with associated with a city, the tracks ‘branded takeovers’, which can completely revamped website within that playlist come from be simple branded playlists, and mobile applications. Con- all over the world. genre channel takeovers, city sistent with v1.0, clean and in- 22tracks as a business ful- station takeovers or a variety of tuitive design allows for an in- ly came to light when Gilles branded wallpapers and ban- stant feeling of familiarity. de Smit, Co-Founder & CEO ners across the site. The company has secured joined the team. Advertising Over the years, advertise- deals with Grolsch Kornuit is the primary revenue stream, ments have included promo- (Beer), citizenM Hotels and UPC making up approximately 60% tions for artists like Band of Horizon (Set Top Box). They of gross. However, the compa- Horses and Daft Punk, along are also organizing their own ny has seen significant growth with branded advertisements 22tracks festival and are explor- through branding partnerships, for companies like Nike, Sony, ing the launch of a activations and events (includ- Sonos and Lipton Iced Tea. in the near future. ing 22tracks branded events), The site also promotes sever- which now comprise approx- al festivals and cultural events

39 There is a big difference be- tracks total) for Amsterdam, when tween developing a cool concept compared to a major streaming versus truly filling a consumer need service, approximately 50% of the or market demand. The personal tracks were unavailable. Examples connection present with 22tracks like this even further validate the cannot be provided through a dis- need for boutique services. In this covery or recommendation algo- scenario boutique means special- rithm. There is a confidence and ized, but in no way implies small assurance that comes with know- given the total reach and traffic of ing that Venz (Vincent Reinders) is the service (see page 39). always the one picking tracks for 22tracks combines creativity Amsterdam ‘Relax’ or that Molly and curation to provide a virtual (a mainstay in the Parisian house destination for its users. The fact and techno scene) is the curator that each user can identify with for Paris ‘House/Techno’. This ex- the person selecting their tracks tinguishes the level of frustration provides a deeper connection presented when automated rec- than a conventional streaming ommendations provide repeated experience. In an NPR interview tracks that miss the mark. in Nov 2013 Ali Aydar, Napster Services like 22tracks make the engineer and the company’s first case for paralleled opportunities employee makes a profound for presenting other virtual cura- statement, “music is a very - tion destinations. The need for tional thing”. This sentiment can larger scale services does not go be easily forgotten amidst the away. However, dedicated stream- ubiquity of today’s digital music ing services providing thoroughly landscape. 22tracks has tapped curated genres offers a plausible into these emotions through a endeavor for the digital music timeless service that will never go entrepreneur. Based on a sample unwanted, personal connection of 4 different stations (4x22=88 through curation.

40 BONUS TRACK

EDM is more than music, it en- In addition to the technical ex- The Dutch word gezellig has capsulates a movement that has ecution of how to reach so many no direct English translation. very deep roots. In contrast to is the common thread of accep- Anyone native to Holland will virtually every other genre, it is a tance and freedom that exists in tell you that this is an “import- form of music that has its very be- EDM culture. It is for the “cool” ant” word that embodies many ginning in technology. This tech- kids, but even more importantly things about Dutch culture. One nological birth has maintained a it is for the outcasts, band geeks, resounding theme that seems to consistent theme throughout the and those in far left field. The be present in the culture around growth in production and per- statistics are available to sup- this word is creating a connection formance tools. Technology is port how these fans are more to people, places and things. coded into the music’s DNA and intensely devoted to their music, There is something very import- those that embrace and seek this which makes perfect sense given ant about finding an inviting music as a mainstay of their daily the significance around finding place, whether physical or virtual, life. Although the financial barrier a place (any place) where social to go where the experience and to entry has been removed from judgment and stigma is virtual- music has been hand selected for making the music, the passion for ly non-existant. But why travel you and the community you love. technology continues on with the across the country or an ocean Now is not just a pivotal time in recent wave of teenage produc- for a three-day festival? Simple, EDM, it is an iconic time in music er phenoms. These young and an unrivaled audible experience across the globe. In the end the old producers not only have the with surrounding spectacles ex- true root cause, external factors tricks on how to make the music, pertly curated for an unforget- and social phenomenon for EDM they also thrive in their ability to table experience. The proverbial can never be truly defined by share it through a variety of live, “crate” is always present in this this paper or any other. Howev- social and digital channels. This space of music making sure that er, what is absolute is how crucial technological foundation helped the connection to fans and how this movement is for so many and build and sustain a culture that is to keep them moving on a floor, how greatly they value the con- now at its peak, where the under- in a field or on a stage seems to nection it creates…gezellig. ground has become mainstream. outweigh all else.

–ROBBY TOWNS, Author & Enthusiast EDMTCC.COM