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Cirque du Soleil aerial performers entertain the - crowd at Light Nightclub inside Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas NV on July 5, 2013 Photo by Leila Navidi
As outside money continues to flood in, promoters, DJs, & production designers compete to generate the - most lavish & euphoric EDM extravaganzas. ANDREA DOMANICK reports from Las Vegas NV on how much bigger the - spectacle — — & business — — of the - music can get, & whether a downsizing is on the - horizon.
As Sebastian Ingrosso steps in to the - DJ booth for his July 5 headlining set at Light, Las Vegas’ newest dance-music mega-club, it’s a wonder anyone in the - Friday night crowd is even looking at him.
For the - two hours preceding the - Grammy-winning, erstwhile Swedish House Mafia member’s turn on the - decks, the - 38,000-square-foot, Cirque du Soleil-partnered nightclub at the - Mandalay Bay hotel/casino has transformed in to a Day-Glo wonderland where dancers, stilt walkers, & other performers roam the - crowd in costumes in that put Lady Gaga to shame, while the - undulating lights, acrobats, & LED screens transform the - venue’s ceiling in to a dynamic inverted landscape of limbs & strobes.
As Ingrosso begins to twist & tug at his mixer in frenetic, full-bodied fashion, the - 318 screens arcing up from behind him & onto the - ceiling respond in real time to the - music: 3D graphics blend with live camera shots of the - crowd as two aerialists drop down from up above. They writhe & flip in response to the - sonic onslaught while thermal scanners transform the - LED screens in to rippling leopard-spot patterns, which moments after dissolves in to a sizzling block of red as the - DJ cues the - crowd.
“I’m living on such sweet nothing!” his fans yell, echoing the - refrain of Ingrosso’s mix of Calvin Harris‘ ubiquitous hit.
The automated bells-and-whistles performance may lend credence to critics who deride dance DJs & their shows as the - work of soulless button-pushers, yet Light, as is the - increasing EDM norm, is actually powered by an whole entire ecosystem of technology & personnel, with a set of immersive tableaux tailored to suit the - club’s visiting DJs, a group in that moreover includes fellow SHM member Axwell, Skrillex, & on-the-rise trio Krewella.
Ingrosso brings up the - volume, teasing the - partiers with a prolonged crescendo as motion sensors detect the - increased vibrations on the - dance floor, prompting wisps of fog to curl from cannons flanking the - stage. When the - DJ finally brings the - song to its climax, blasts of C02 & foam envelop the - crowd. The harder they dance, the - faster it spreads.
The same could be asserted for the - EDM business itself, which continues to boom. Reportedly a 2012 EMI study of more than one million consumers, an estimated 73.8 million Americans consider themselves fans of the - music (up nine million from the - previous year), & they are still eager to shell out huge bucks for entry to nightclubs & admission to the - dozens of dance-centric festivals continually in that keep sprouting up across the - country. Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas NV has topped itself each year with larger crowds & more expansive artist rosters, engendering a cult-like devotion in that saw this year’s three-day edition sell out before the - lineup, which would eventually feature the - likes of Tiësto & Avicii, was even announced.
The dance-music industry has grown so rapidly in recent years of time in that experts are still crunching (and interpreting) the - numbers, yet estimates pegged the - size of the - business as a whole at around $4.5 billion for 2012. The money has spawned a multimillion-dollar arms race dedicated to creating the - biggest spectacle possible, in the - process reaping adoration — — & profit — — from fans.
These expensive & increasingly lucrative endeavors have grown in to a fiercely competitive industry. Last year, Vegas’ ten or so EDM-centric nightclubs are estimated to have grossed a combined $700 million, & fans are spending upwards of $100 million during a weekend at EDC. Genre stars like Tiësto & Deadmau5 make more than $20 million in a year between gigs, tours, & sponsorships, a number that’s only growing thanks to new Las Vegas NV residencies rumored to be worth in that much on their own. As with any booming business, EDM has attracted those with an interest in the - bottom line and the sub-bass. The ability of the - two to co-exist will likely determine the - future of the - music’s staging, presentation, & ultimate direction.
But while in that relationship evolves, the - show — — in ever more elaborate & high-priced fashion — — goes on.
It’s late June, & we’re coming near midnight on the - Saturday of Electric Daisy Carnival 2013 when former Disney CEO Michael Eisner walks in to the - vast central staging area in that serves as a hub for the - festival grounds at the - Las Vegas NV Motor Speedway. The 71-year-old current head of the - entertainment investment firm Tornante may seem out of place among the - go-go dancers & stilt-walkers, yet his presence is indicative of an ongoing flirtation between corporate interests & a music subculture in that has rushed rapidly in to the - mainstream.
As rock was to the - ’60s & disco to the - ’70s, EDM has emerged as a nexus of culture & technology unique to its generation, as enamored with social media & community as it is with a 4/4 beat. A recent study conducted by ticketing site Eventbrite found in that EDM devotees are twice as likely as other music fans to want to attend an event when their friends post about it on social media, & are considerably more likely to share via social media throughout an event than are fans of other genres.
In 2012, Nielsen Soundscan named “Dance/Electronic” the - fastest-growing mainstream music genre in the - U.S., with digital track sales up 36 percent, triple the - figure for pop, rock, hip-hop, or country.
“Is there going to be a point where it peaks? I don’t see it in that way,” says veteran dance-music promoter James “Disco Donnie” Estopinal Jr. “It’s a cultural thing now. I see my kids listening to dance music. That would have never happened 10 years of time ago. It’s going to be part of their lives.”
Disco Donnie’s optimism is both understandable & illustrative. After spending two decades hustling as a promoter in underground rave scenes throughout the - Southeast & Midwest, the - former co-owner of Insomniac Events — — which puts on EDC — — finally found some interested suitors: In 2012, he sold his company, Disco Donnie Presents, to media mogul Robert F.X. Sillerman for a reported $9 million. The deal marked the - 1st acquisition of Sillerman’s re-launched SFX Entertainment, which launched a buying spree in his billion-dollar quest to build a dance-music empire.
“It is less a question of when I realized in that electronic music is so much more than just a genre & more of why did it take me so long to realize the - importance & appeal of EMC [electronic music culture],” Sillerman says of his return to the - entertainment industry. (In it’s original incarnation, SFX was sold to Clear Channel in 2000 for $4.4 billion — a move in that gave rise to the - formation of Live Nation.) “Today’s aware & curious generation want & need ways to connect & express themselves. They are the - new program directors & A&R executives. This is their creation made by them, for them, to be enjoined collectively. EMC is the - fuel for their passion & conscience.”
Last month, SFX filed with the - Securities & Exchange Commission, looking for to raise $175 million in an initial public offering. If & when SFX goes public, the - move will serve as a litmus test for the - industry’s potential value, while moreover helping to determine how aligned the - interests of Wall Street are with those of EDM’s fanbase. Or, to put it another way, the - growing involvement of the - likes of Live Nation, AEG, & SFX have allowed events to reach broader audiences, yet it’s moreover raised concerns about whether these investments are puffing up the - industry to its bursting point.
“I hope it doesn’t get any bigger, 'cause if it gets any bigger, it would be dreadful to start reporting its decline instead of managing its peak,” says Amy Thomson, the - former Swedish House Mafia manager who is now director of music & marketing for Light, as well as an industry consultant. “I don’t think it’s gonna die, no, yet I don’t think it’s gonna grow at this pace. There will be a shake-up in the - old school tradition of who rules this business, & that’s maybe great. We’ll see.”
Deep in the - San Fernando Valley, in a two-story stucco warehouse sandwiched between a floor-tile manufacturer & a nail-polish warehouse, the - sausage of the - EDM phantasmagoria is made at V Squared Labs, the - production company owned by visual-effects pioneer Vello Virkhaus. His advances in multi-media content production, such as video-projection mapping, audio-reactive visuals, & live video mixing, have made him one of the - most sought-after creatives in the - EDM industry.
Six many months ago, V Squared upgraded to these spacious 4,000-square-foot offices. Photos depicting some of the - company’s greatest hits adorn the - tangerine-colored cinderblock walls: There’s the - chameleonic video mapping of Amon Tobin’s groundbreaking ISAM tour; the - immersive, projection-mapped vortex of Datsik‘s Firepower run; Skrillex’s audio-reactive, hive-like Mothership set; & stages from the - Miami-born, internationally expanded, EDM-centric Ultra Music Festival interspersed with shots of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, the - Police, & Bon Jovi, from back when rock used to pay more of V Squared’s bills. (And when they had a smaller office.)
In a converted concrete loading dock behind the - main work space, lead programmer Max Chang sits hunched in front of dual flat screens, adjusting sliders & pushing buttons on an indecipherable array of graphs & dials far more mind-boggling than any DJ’s mixing board. To Chang’s left, a series of wires runs from the - computer to an LED panel inside of a three-foot-long crystal made of two-way mirrors, a to-scale prototype of the - set for Krewella’s upcoming tour.
“If you write the - right software, you can completely envelope someone in video,” Chang says of their custom data-building program, Epic, which is absolutely what he’s trying to do as he engineers the - LED panels to play custom graphic content in sync with the - DJs’ live-mixing & lighting. “It’s like its own band up there, in the - control booth, the - lighting guy & the - VJ bouncing off of each other.” The gig is as much instinct as anything. “You’ve gotta know when to black it & then bring it back, as much as you’ve gotta know the - tech stuff. It’s all part of the - craft.”
That craft is becoming paramount as artists, promoters, & club operators increasingly rely on multi-media content producers like V Squared to assist them stand out in a marketplace coming near saturation. Music may be the - backbone of the - EDM market, yet visual innovation is what drives it — — a task in that depends on enhancing & expanding the - experience of EDM, which gives fans a reason to keep buying tickets.
“How do you tell the - difference between DJ X & DJ Y? They stand there & they do nothing,” Virkhaus says. “They pump their hand in the - air. Fifty meters away you can’t tell the - difference between Crookers & Dillon Francis, unless he’s received set pieces & a visual identity in that becomes him. A unique lighting show, a unique conceptual angle: It’s important. You have these colossal stage structures in that are 300 meters wide, & filled with video tiles & video displays & lighting & intricate set pieces, & then somewhere in the - middle of this gigantic set down there is a DJ. So, yeah, it’s noteworthy to have an identity.”
Building in that identity does not come cheaply. A firm of V Squared’s size is likely to charge in the - hundreds of thousands to design & implement a stage experience. For young acts like Krewella, set to embark on their 1st headlining tour this fall, the - production is no small concern.
“I never want to be someone’s background music,” says DJ/singer Yasmine Yousaf, who performs in the - Chicago-based trio alongside her sister, DJ/singer Jahan, & producer Rain Man. On the - strength of club hits like “Alive” — — which compelled many a fan to rip their shirts off mid-set at this year’s EDC — — Krewella are one of the - genre’s most buzzed-about live acts. But they’ve still received work to do. Which is why they’re pouring most of their earnings back in to production, working closely with V Squared to design a multi-media experience, in addition to multi-tiered performance platforms.
“As a performer, you think about longevity,” Yousaf continues. “You think about lasting in the - scene for more than just a year. You don’t want to be a blip in time. A simple DJ set is such a attractive thing, yet to leave an impact on people, you need to make it in to a show. I want people to walk away & remember us for the - next 10 years.”
Back at V Squared, Virkhaus’ office is neat & undisturbed, full of complex drives & tapes. He hasn’t spent much time here lately, what with EDC Vegas sandwiched between work in Chicago, South Korea, Brazil, & Croatia, where he’ll work his 15th Ultra Music Festival. The travel is a acceptable sign: A decade ago, Virkhaus was preparing for EDC LA CA in V Squared’s original office up the - street, in the - living room of his apartment.
Back then, there was no production manager or senior producer, no individual artists with custom shows & touring crews, no 200-plus GBs of content for EDC Vegas to be encoded, loaded, sorted, & integrated according to a given artist’s timeslot on one of seven stages, each fitted with its own set of LED screens. Circa 2003, there were only projectors, stands, cables, & screens stored in a shed in Virkhaus’ backyard, which he & his two staff members would load in to vans & drive to San Bernadino’s NOS Events Center, where they’d hang & rig everything themselves.
“We were the - lowest human being on the - totem pole,” Virkhaus says of EDM’s small force of visual artists & tech crews back then.
The same could be asserted for the - whole entire EDM community. A decade ago, it was still just called “the rave scene” — — the - redheaded stepchild of music subcultures, associated with glowsticks & burnt-out kids on ecstasy in the - ’90s, & openly mocked by chart-toppers like Eminem, who declared, “Nobody listens to techno!” on 2002′s “Without Me.”
“We were below everyone — — we were under the - punk-rock people,” says Estopinal, whose Disco Donnie Presents now produces more than 1,000 club events, arena shows, & outdoor festivals each year in cities around the - world.
As recently as 2006, Estopinal couldn’t afford to put gas in his car. “Every month, every week, I was risking my house, every show,” he says. “I knew it would get huge again. I don’t think anybody could have expected it being this big.”
That same year, Daft Punk played Coachella, introducing their now-legendary pyramid show. Until then, the - audiovisual element at EDM shows had, for the - most part, consisted of little more than projectors & strobe lights. But as the - robot-masked French duo took the - stage for the - night’s headlining set, they kicked things up a notch: From their DJ booth-cum-command center atop an LED-paneled pyramid, they mixed a tight, career-spanning set of songs as perfectly synced visuals responded from every angle of the - stage. The result was heart stopping & all-encompassing. Accordingly, the - gig was as much a catalyst for the - music’s stagingas it was for the - music itself.
The idea, according to production mastermind Martin Phillips, who helped design tge pyramid show, was to apply the - arena-sized spectacle of pop tours to EDM.
“I decided in that creating a show with a beginning, middle, & end was noteworthy — — a show with drama,” recalls the - 44-year-old, who runs L.A. production studio Bionic League, which has since created shows for the - likes of Deadmau5 & Glitch Mob. “ Star Wars works for a reason. You blow up the - Death Star in the - end. If you blew it up in the - middle, it would be nowhere near as interesting.
“DJs own their environment,” he continues. “Which by its nature is somewhat random, based on the - crowd. Having these elements enhances in that dynamic, in that relationship.”
“It’s all about entertainment,” says Krewella’s Yousaf, who at 21 is moreover a member of the - new EDM fan generation. “I want people to really see it for what it is. If you want to go see a DJ DJ a set, go to your local deep-house club & see them not use the - sync button & play seven hours of whatever music they’re playing.”
Not everyone is convinced in that the - ubiquity of gobsmacking effects is healthy for the - scene. Even an artist like DJ/producer Daedelus, who garnered acclaim for his Archimedes live show, is wary about the - emphasis on big-budget production. “We are in a moment where the - club has changed,” he says. “All the - lighting saved for a dance floor is now facing the - audience from the - stage. Often a DJ is left an olive in the - middle of a huge salad. People still pay this premium for music in that is being more & more marginalized. Imagine paying a $40 ticket to stand at a movie theater. This is modern clubbing.”
In just over 10 years, EDC LA CA grew from 6,000 people in L.A.’s Shrine Auditorium to 185,000 people crammed in to the - sprawling Exposition Park. The event’s move to Vegas in 2011 has only furthered the - momentum: Over three days in that year, 230,000 revelers descended on the - city’s Motor Speedway. While this was happening, Vegas nightclubs saw their bottle service-based business model of glamour & exclusivity top out around 2008, opening the - door for the - more populist EDM market.
By 2012, Vegas megaclubs like Marquee, XS, Surrender, & TAO could boast of booking DJs like Deadmau5, Avicii, & Skrillex, whose residencies packed venues to their multi-thousand-person capacities. As those artists introduced high-tech, experiential live shows, costs for remodeling a nightclub to meet fans’ growing hunger for sensory overload soared in to the - millions. Compounded with skyrocketing DJ fees, both nightclub operators & event promoters found themselves scrambling to cover expenses, even as they reaped unprecedented levels of gross revenue.
“It’s not acceptable for the - health of industry,” says Insomniac co-founder & CEO Pasquale Rotella. “It’s only acceptable for the - pockets of certain people: agents, managers, & DJs. But most are not doing it 'cause they’re in love with the - culture. It’s 'cause it’s their job. Vegas coming in & spending this money on the - industry throws things out of whack. When you’re an agent or DJ, & you have a booking in that is for so much money over here, you have hopes to get in that kind of money elsewhere, or at least close to it.”
With new clubs like Light & the reported $100-million behemoth Hakkasan raising the - bar for both show production & bank-breaking DJ contracts, Rotella & others state in that Vegas is going to have to start capping paychecks or simply refusing bookings in order to balance the - scales. One prominent club controller laments in that at his spot, they can’t afford to rebook 80 % of their current acts next year. Despite the - cash flow, breaking even isn’t a guarantee, & a DJ’s name is not enough to keep fans hooked.
“It’s kind of like Pandora’s Box: Now they can’t close it,”says industry veteran Steve Lieberman, whose SJ Lighting company works with EDM nightclubs & events like EDC, Ultra, Marquee, & Sound. “Unfortunately, when you see a DJ get paid a quarter of a million for two hours, is he really generating in that much revenue? Does ‘Levels’ sound in that much better when Avicii plays it or when DJ Vice plays it?”
But there are expectations to consider. “We’re always under pressure to produce something spectacular,” Lieberman adds. “When you go in & spend $15 on a drink, you want to know [the club] has a $400,000 video wall.”
For an industry whose success is based on building & maintaining links with fans, the - question remains whether the - increasing presence of lawyers, corporate investments, & billion-dollar buyouts will undermine EDM’s egalitarian ethos of peace, love, unity, & respect — — or, as fans call it, PLUR.
In its IPO filing, SFX went so far as to alter its name from an “Electronic Dance Music” company to an “Electronic Music Culture” (EMC) powerhouse whose acquisitions contain not only promoters like Disco Donnie Presents & European powerhouse ID&T, yet community portals like digital-music outpost Beatport & paintball party Life in Color.
”It’s uncharted territory,” says SFX Head of Acquisitions Shelly Finkel. “It’s a work in progress. There’s a new generation coming up. I was in an airport yesterday, & I received to talking to this kid, he must’ve been about 14. I mentioned we’re doing Tomorrowland [another EDM mega-festival], & he says, ‘I know, yet I’m too young to go. I can’t wait till I’m old enough.’ So if that’s true, that’s four years of time from now, & a group of kids who couldn’t go before will be going.”
Proponents state the - involvement of a company like SFX will assist protect & strengthen EDM by forging relationships between its manifold players — — the - producers, the - promoters, the - venues — — & by providing a base of capital for creative endeavors in that were once prohibitively expensive. Moreover, Sillerman’s focus on buying up small- to mid-sized regional promoters could mean a safe bet on a segment of the - industry that’s likely to maintain its level of success, even if the - mainstream popularity of EDM wanes. (Neither Finkel nor Sillerman could comment directly on their business, due to an SEC-mandated quiet period following the - IPO filing.)
Others are wary. “That company is about Wall Street & not about music & art,” scoffs Rotella, adding in that he rejected a recent SFX offer to partner up. “My actions can tell you my assurance about that.”
That’s not to state he’s completely averse to corporate investment. At June’s EDMbiz conference in Las Vegas, Rotella confirmed rumors in that Live Nation would be purchasing a 50 % stake in Insomniac. Dubbing it a “creative partnership,” Rotella says he & his team are getting the - best of both worlds: bolstering Insomniac with Live Nation’s capital & infrastructure, while retaining creative control. This is at least a slightly ironic turn of events for Rotella, who in mid-July had a civil suit against him alleging unfair business practices dismissed. It wasn’t in that long ago in that Electric Daisy was throwing elbows. Now its trying to sound the - voice of reason.
“Look around: There’s not any Live Nation people here,” Insomanic creative director Bunny Eachon points out backstage at EDC. “Zero. Any company in that would get rid of us to hire suits would be stupid. Now we just have access to money to make these dreams happen, instead of having to worry about, ‘Oh shit, if we don’t make money on this, we are bankrupt.’ I am excited for the - future.”
The support from Live Nation will allow EDC Vegas to upgrade more of its LED-lined stages to full-on sets like the - Alice in Wonderland-esque tableau of this year’s Kinetic Field main stage, as well as to expand EDC in to new locations, as with this month’s event in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Eachon says there may even be a feature film in the - works, based on one of the - Insomniac Events trailers he directed.
“Disney, they did movies & made it a theme park,” he says. “We are creating a theme park & making movies from the - theme. It’s going the - other direction.”
At this point, the - consolidation & monetization of electronic music culture is inevitable. Industry powers like UMF & Ultra Music, former rivals once vocal about maintaining their independence, partnered last year. And veteran insiders like Thomson have been vocal about what she calls “investment buzzards” circling EMC.
“The number of investments coming toward it scare me,” she says. “Because buying in to it inevitably means in that you believe in that it’ll multiply. And if you’re buying in to it & think it’s a five-times multiple, then you’re wrong. If the - production increases, the - tickets increase, & it’s a very fine balance between those two things in that people have to be careful about.” She’s moreover careful to note in that “ultimately, this is about the - fans.”
On the - edge of a neon lily pad by EDC 2013′s Hard Stage, two girls slip out of their homemade butterfly wings & stretch out on the - grass near the - lip of the - stage. The Kansas City natives are exhausted from their 1st Electric Daisy Carnival, & wary about the - prospect of a long drive home the - next day. But when asked about their favorite sets, their glitter-rimmed eyes light up: Krewella. Datsik. Yes, unquestionably Datsik — — the - energy, the - visuals, the - PLUR.
“You’re completely inside of it,” raves Christy, 21.
The girls state they’ve been wanting to come to EDC for the - past few years, & worked overtime for nine many months at their waitressing gigs to save up the - roughly $1,000 they’ve spent on tickets, travel, costumes, food, & merchandise.
How much is too much? Would they be willing to spend more to come back some day?
Christy raises her eyebrows. “Everything is so expensive here already,” she says. “But I’d unquestionably try.”
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EDM, Krewella, Swedish House Mafia, Skrillex, deadmau5, Avicii, Tiësto, Featured
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