EDM Facts and Stereotypes, the Good and the Bad

Writing Project 3

Part One

During my Elementary school era, my peers were listening to mainstream hip-pop artists, such as  Flo Rida and Sean Kingston. I felt lost in my music taste. To my classmates, artificial mixing and electronic sounds were just random noises. However, pop and hip-pop did not interest me, but rather the fast BPM and underlying beat of electronic dance music (EDM) songs.

It was December 7, 2019 and I had just told my parents that I was going to a friend’s house to study. In actuality, it was almost 8 pm and I had just pulled up to the ex-Staples center. I approached the intersection on 11th St. and Georgia St., went through a security check, and received a ticket that said “Illenium Ascend Tour” and a wristband with the words “GA FLR.” This was my first EDM concert and it was exactly what I had imagined it to be: lots of lights and lasers, heavy bass, and a community of EDM lovers and ravers. A few years and several concerts/raves later, I can confidently call myself an EDM veteran.  

“Are you on anything?” I have been asked this at almost every EDM event I have gone to, and in response I always say “no.” At music events, people often take drugs to “enhance” their experience and surroundings. However, compared to other genres of music, EDM gets a bad reputation when it comes to drug abuse. For instance, when searching up “EDM drugs” on Google, the first few link descriptions include buzz words, such as “molly,” “shrooms,” “LSD,” “marajuana,” and many more. On the other hand, when searching up “jam band drugs” there are no reminiscence of examples of drugs, except for the word “drugs'' itself. Ironically, the first link is a subReddit about peoples’ experiences on drugs at jam band concerts. In the late 90s, the Jam Band scene was a new genre incorporating a balance of Jazz, Country, and Rock. It was known for its melodic and rhythmic grooves, and attendees often took psychedelics to enhance the “chill” and “dreamy” vibes at concerts or events. One Redditor by the name of Doser91 commented that “Jam Bands definitely are the best though, it's kinda what they are built upon, fans being high on psychedelics at the show.” 

According to the “American Addiction Center,” 976 people were surveyed from various music events and “more than two-thirds [67.5%] of people who attended an EDM festival admitted to consuming either drugs or alcohol at the show.” Moreover, 25.6% of people who attended an EDM festival admitted to taking MDMA, molly, or ecstasy. On the other hand, 7.1% of attendees admitted to consuming benzodiazepines and 33.3% admitted to consuming marajuana at Reggae events (synonymous to Jam Band). Even though the Jam Band scene has just as bad drug problems as EDM, it does not get the same amount of backlash and disrespect; it almost seems as if people just forget and deal with it. In the documentary “Coachella: 20 Years in the Desert | YouTube Originals,” Joseph Biden had this to say about rave culture in early 2000s: “If I were governor of my state or mayor of my town, I would be passing new ordinances relating to stiff criminal penalties for anyone who held a rave…I would put that son of a gun in jail.” 

The facts don't lie, but as an avid EDM connoisseur, the scene is not all about getting high and partying hard. All music genres have their own communities, but the inclusivity of EDM sets it apart. 

EDM rave culture plays a huge role at concerts and festivals; there is always an emphasis of PLUR: Peace, Love, Unity, Respect. According to an article published by iHeartRaves, the birth of the term was started by New York DJ Frankie Bones. On July 24, 1993, he was playing at a rave in the Bronx, and “a fight broke out in the crowd and ended up spilling over onto Bones’ deck. He grabbed the microphone and shouted ‘You better start showing some peace, love, and unity or I will break your f*cking faces!’” Peace, love, and unity had already been a  heavy emphasis on the EDM scene, but after the humorous story spread throughout the 90s rave scene “R” was added to the acronym to make PLUR. A popular example of PLUR activity is trading Kandis. Kandis are typically handmade wearable accessories, commonly in the form of bracelets or necklaces, made of plastic beads and an elastic string. Foreigners to EDM may assume that this is just an excuse to revisit an Elementary era of making small handmade crafts. However, Kandis “symbolizes a strong connection made between two people at a rave or festival.”  (iHeartRaves).  Trading also accompanies a PLUR handshake, which consists of the two traders’ fingers touching and making a “peace” sign, then a heart, next interlocking the same hand, and finally trading the kandi. 

According to an article published by Metasource, in the 90s illegal raves and concerts were hosted at abandoned warehouses, hidden basements, and abandoned buildings. From carefully monitoring phone trees and discreetly distributing passwords, this exchange of secret information served as a binding agreement to create a safe space for concert goers. The term PLUR was often used in the underground rave scene and the community had a huge emphasis on love, respect, and most importantly trust. While EDM music brought many people together, its main purpose was to create a safe space for everyone. EDM heavily emphasizes “family” and is very accepting, thus it is known to be a very LGBTQ+ community. Record labels such as Delsional Records pride in their mission of promoting music by female, non-binary, and LGBTQ+ artists. Excision’s Bass Music Initiative even gave $10,000 each to ten artists to “underrepresented and underprivileged artists [to] help bolster their music careers.” Furthermore, LGBTQ+ artists like Moore Kismet, Wreckno, GRiZ, and REZZ frequently headline at EDM events to show attendees that there is nothing to be afraid of and that they are not alone in the music community.

Another form of controversial EDM culture would be “moshing”. I believe there is a “good” type of moshing and a “bad” type of moshing. I like to think EDM is more towards the good type of moshing. Although moshing has a bad name for itself, this is most likely due to events such as Travis Scotts’ concert for Astroworld. By not catering towards the mosh pit etiquette, this creates disorder amongst the crowd and can even cause death. However for EDM, I would like the believe that the majority of the population that goes to EDM concerts respect the mosh pit etiquette thus limiting injuries amongst others. Overall, respecting others and prioritizing safety is the main concerns of the crowd in turn creating a safer environment for the “moshers”. 

In the mid 2010s, artists like Avicii, Tiesto, Cash Cash, DVBBS, and Kygo started to gain popularity and were later engulfed into the mainstream Top 50’s category. The song “Clarity” by Zedd was produced during this era, and with almost 450 million plays the song won the Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording at the 56th Grammy Awards (2014). In the YouTube documentary “Zedd - Moment of Clarity (Documentary),” Zedd said, “When I made Clarity, I had no clue this was anything more than just a song I really liked personally. At some point it was number one on American radio and aside from that it changed my life because I was able to play this tour and it all started with his moment of Clarity” (21:47). The mid 2010s was a life changing era for many, such as Zedd, David Guetta, and even Avicii (RIP). EDM songs were solemnly played on the radio because it was a good song to listen to and vibe. This new era of Progressive House made EDM mainstream and had a positive impact clearing a lot of the drug controversy and negative stigma.

Today, EDM is even heard in the local Zara and at nearly every college gathering. The2022 IMS Business Report 2022, revealed that “electronic music was valued at $6 billion in 2021, which is up 71% from 2020” and “electronic artists [such as 3LAU] accounted for 64 percent of total music NFT sales, totaling $55.4 million.” In the past, the EDM music industry generated most of its revenues from music festivals and Vegas nightclubs. However, with the rise of streaming services and crypto, the industry and EDM artists have used this to their advantage.

Part Two

When people first hear EDM, they think about flashing lights and hallucinogens. Upon doing research about EDM, the facts (usually about drugs and overdose) were in forms of a research paper. This genre is catered towards professionals, and music enjoyers like me would probably refute and ignore this kind of writing. On the other hand, commentary, such as first person experience at EDM events, were in forums or YouTube videos, and this genre of writing caters towards a younger audience. 

When I think of EDM, I see it as something very different. In my writing I wanted to share a balanced ideology of acknowledging the facts and also mention the positives of the industry. I sought to clear up the negative stigma, but also cater to both professionals and a younger audience, thus I decided to write in the genre of a personal essay.  

In a personal essay, I am able to write about personal experiences. I am also able to cater to a  broad audience of like minded people or people who are curious about what I am writing about.  Ideally, I am writing to other EDM fans who feel the same way I do and I am looking for affirmation. Furthermore, I am writing to other music connoisseurs who have a perception of EDM that I believe is wrong and that I wish to correct. My goal is to recuperate and dispute the impression of the EDM scene; portraying EDM the way I know it compared to how it is being understood. 

The style of a personal essay tends to be more casual and easy-reading. It acts very similar to storytelling and in a similar case I initiated my paper with a first person experience at my first EDM concert. By recounting my experience of EDM, I am painting a scene of EDM of what it actually is like compared to a perception fueled by numbers and data. My experience in the EDM community has been very welcoming and I wanted to write about the community and inclusivity of it. 

The amount of negative stigma EDM gets about drug use is incomparable to other genres. I mentioned the Jam Band scene, which was an era in the 90s that was dependent on hallucinogens, and questioned why it does not give the same kind of bad reputation as EDM. Similarly, I looked at other kinds of music communities, identified the main differences and asked myself what made each genre unique. 

Researching EDM proved to me that it is an understudied genre of music. Especially with the arising fentanyl poisoning problem, the EDM scene is often at the center of attention. Research and data has shown that drug usage exists within the scene, but the music and community aspect often goes unheard. In the form of a personal essay, I attempted to break the ideology and contribute to the understudied part of EDM by providing some personal experience and talking about its culture.