Is there a genre of music that treats their fans shittier than electronic music? I'm going to say "no", and that carries over from DJs with a God Complex down to labels that view fans as walking credit cards and basically anyone at a festival with the pitiful power of a laminated pass. I know several big name DJs who obscure all their contact info online because, as one told me, they "don't want everyone to send me their music". Srsly. Pipecock has written up his depressing account of this year's Festival Formerly Known as DEMF, and the undertone reflects just the pitiful lack of respect shown across this genre. You could write a book on it, and I think that'd book get rave reviews from everyone except the trogs at the top of the foodchain. [Infinite State Machine]
Rebirth is now on an iPhone app/toy, which is probably the best use for it. The interesting angle here is the repackaging of an older technology rather than abandoning it. [CNet]
A pretty amazing discussion is taking place (or was - it's just about over now) on the Infinite State Machine about the set up of this year's Detroit Electronic Music Festival (sorry, "Movement") and the segregation of local artists in some cavernous dungeon known as the "Made in Detroit" stage.
The salient point that's brought up right away is this: The Festival Officially Known As Movement (TFOKAM) is no longer Detroit's electronic music festival, but an electronic music festival that happens to be in Detroit.
That isn't 100% accurate of course, but there's no doubt that the current festival organizers have put a lot more emphasis on Big In Europe acts likely to attract out-of-town ticket buyers than on Detroit's homegrown product.
The example of TFOKAM has been brought up quite a bit in the context of Chicago's Chosen Few Picnic. Unlike TFOKAM, the Picnic is free. There's also no "Vitamin Water Stage", no "Red Bull Stage", no "Movement Torino Stage". The Chosen Few Picnic isn't going to be Powered By Ford Fiesta. The Chosen Few Picnic is paid for by pre- and post-parties and passing the hat (or, actually, the bucket!) and the overruns - of which I assume there have been several over the years - are taken care of by the promoters themselves.
This obviously isn't an ideal situation - it actually sounds pretty close to what Derrick May went through when he was organizing the Detroit event, back when TFOKAM was still Officially Known as DEMF - but on the other hand there's absolutely no way Chicago artists will ever be sidelined in their own town.
So there's a choice, and expecting the promoters of TFOKAM to scale things back and place Detroit's artists more fully in the limelight ain't gonna happen. But the Chosen Few manages to attract more than 10,000 on Chicago's Southside, with minimal promotion and a budget you can charitably call "shoestring". It's a fuck of a lot of work and I'm glad I'm not the one putting it together, but the option's there in every city where there's a musical following for this kind of music.
Oh, and since I'm getting a lot of questions about it: The Chosen Few Picnic is set to go off on July 10, 2010 - location and line-up still TBA.
The talent roster for two of the largest electronic music festivals in the world were announced on Thursday, March 11, 2010: the Detroit Electronic Music Festival (Detroit, May 29-31, 2010) and Southport Weekender 46 (May 7-9, 2010).
The Detroit Electronic Music Festival (which frankly no one but the latest in the shuffle of organizers calls by its true name - "Movement Electronic Music Festival") features:
Is there a genre of music that treats their fans shittier than electronic music? I'm going to say "no", and that carries over from DJs with a God Complex down to labels that view fans as walking credit cards and basically anyone at a festival with the pitiful power of a laminated pass. I know several big name DJs who obscure all their contact info online because, as one told me, they "don't want everyone to send me their music". Srsly. Pipecock has written up his depressing account of this year's Festival Formerly Known as DEMF, and the undertone reflects just the pitiful lack of respect shown across this genre. You could write a book on it, and I think that'd book get rave reviews from everyone except the trogs at the top of the foodchain. [Infinite State Machine]
