EDM Culture

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See What Music Festivals Cost The Most And Make The Most Profit [VIDEO]

Money, money, money, money

The video on this link elaborates on the number of people who attend music festivals, the cost of tickets one must pay to attend a music festival, and their economic impact While the video focuses on music festivals in general, it also talks specifically about Electronic Daisy Carnival (EDC), a strictly EDM festival, and how it holds the one of the highest attendance records of 450,000 people.  The expenses of EDC are similar to the other music festivals included in the video which is why I think this video is relevant and gives insight into the costs of attending raves and other EDM events.

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Position Statement

There are four pillars EDM followers are supposed to adhere to when consuming their culture: peace, love, unity, respect.  As seen in the video, rave goers are meant to embody PLUR as a way to be empathetic and show appreciation for other members of this subculture.  EDM culture claims to be an inclusive community where everyone is equal and shares the same values which is admirable, but it tries to reduce women’s roles in EDM to almost solely as consumers.  In my research, I discovered that a lot of the time women are perceived as sexualized objects to be consumed in EDM culture.  In contrast, men in EDM have an advantage in becoming successful due to their gender and their skills are never questioned when performing as women’s are.  Women are being treated differently than men which does not align with the pillar, respect.

Another critique about the ethics of EDM culture has to deal with drug use.  EDM consumers have been socialized within the culture to believe that the events they go to are meant to serve as experiences that are special to their culture and should be enjoyed to the fullest.  However, many people take drugs at EDM events in order to enhance their experience which has potential deadly consequences if one does not know how to take care of their body on drugs. There are programs that educate people on recreational drug use, which may seem extremely beneficial, but at the same it can be perceived as promoting drug use.  This calls into question if the mission of the EDM subculture is moral because it normalizes drugs that have had deadly effects.   

There is another important inequality that cannot be ignored within EDM culture, that of who is able to attend its festivals.  People who want to go to festivals have to be able to pay for all of the expenses including tickets which can cost anywhere between 200-400 dollars, food and water which tend to be overpriced, as well as hotel and transportation cost.  I went to EDC this past summer and I spent approximately 1000 dollars in total for the experience.  This excludes lower income folks who do not have the means to pay for these expenses which keeps them from being fully immersed as community members of this culture.

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This link provides an explanation of the frequency of drug use and drug related deaths at EDM festivals. This article takes a unique approach to address drug use because it recognizes that it will not completely disappear from EDM events, in turn, people must be educated on recreational drug use and learn how to take care of their body properly if they decide to take drugs.  The implication behind this is to prevent drug related deaths and injuries by teaching people what supplemental measures they must take with their bodies when they are in an altered state.

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This TEDx talk by Shelby Felder makes comparisons of raves to religion.  An example the speaker provides are the pillars peace, love, unity, respect (PLUR) as the foundation of ravers’ belief system being similar to the Apostles’ Creed for Catholics. She explains in more detail that there is an emphasis on empathy at raves which inclines people to desire to be a part of the community.  This video provides significance because it describes the allure of joining this community and shows the prevalence of the innate need humans have to belong to something bigger than themselves.

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Women DJs

In the book, Beyond the Dance Floor: Female DJs, Technology and Electronic Dance Music Culture by Rebekah Farrugia, the author discusses women’s roles within EDM.  She discusses that women are not thought to be cultural producers, but rather they are perceived mainly as cultural consumers of EDM.  Simultaneously, women are also thought to contribute to consumerism by being consumed for pleasure for others to look at at EDM events.  There are women involved in the cultural production of electronic dance music, but their presence is not as prevalent as their male counterparts because EDM culture lacks representation of women.  In her research, she interviewed multiple women DJs and found that those who gain success within EDM culture, often times do not want to address their gender as an issue because they believe their success is due to their own abilities.   

In Chapter 2, women DJs express an obstacle they face from EDM consumers when performing: the question of whether they are on stage due to their DJing skills or if it’s because of their attractive physical appearance.  They point out as well that men never experience this skepticism from consumers and EDM producers because it is always assumed the reason they are performing is because their excellent talent.  Farrugia finds that there are three categories women DJs are confined to presenting themselves as: sex kitten, t-shirt DJ, and dyke.  As a push back against the objectification of women presenting oneself as a sex kitten brings, t-shirt DJs dress similarly to males, but this also limits their choices of what they can wear.  Interestingly, those who identify as gay and embody masculinity through their hairstyles and clothing are seen as more competitive and are respected more by male DJs.

This issue is clearly one of gender, but women DJs do not want to name it as such because they believe that they are able to control their images; however, they are unable to control the way their audience perceives their images.  As long as women DJs maintain the position that the achievement of their success is solely based on their own talent and abilities, they dismiss the importance of obstacles they faced to become DJs due to their gender, which sustains the unequal gender practices within the subculture.  Farrugia’s research about women’s roles in EDM is reliable because she makes sure to recognize her own social position as a woman and as a consumer of EDM culture might affect her research findings.  She also employs interviewing as a research method which provides a more personal look into the culture and informs readers of women DJs’ shared experiences.

http://0-site.ebrary.com.ignacio.usfca.edu/lib/usflibrary/reader.action?docID=10583917&ppg=30 

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Introduction

As human beings, we all have an innate need to belong to something.  By this, I mean that we desire to belong to some sort of community or organization based on shared values and the potential support system one can attain.  In college, it is easier to access and fulfill this need by taking action and joining organizations such as clubs, intramural sports, greek life, or even on campus jobs.  While all of these options can prospectively invoke a feeling of belonging, there is a formal process that goes within joining and becoming a part of them whether it’s through auditions, interviews, or filling out an application.   

In recent years there is phenomena that has emerged that claims to accept anyone who wishes to be a part of its culture, often pulling in those of college age– the Electronic Dance Music (EDM) subculture.  The rise in popularity of  EDM subculture has proven to have made an impact considering the numerous amount of people that are involved and attend raves, and the unity amongst its members outside of EDM events.  Through these blog posts, I will explore various aspects of EDM culture ranging from its similarity to religion, to gender disparities within the subculture.