As you know, typically we write about protecting your rights.  This post is about musicians, of all types, having the right to make music in any format he or she may want.  

Every decade or so a new type of music becomes popular amongst the teen to twenty-somethings.  With the onset of a “new” hot genre of music an inevitable reaction is harsh criticism.   The thirty-plus-somethings who still are fond of the trend that was tops when they were of a “taste-making” age cannot help themselves and shred the quality, craftsmanship or artistry of the the music trend du jour.

I guess it is a right of passage; you get to a certain age and you automatically are permitted to present your opinons on why whatever is hot right now sucks compared to what you like.  In my formative years, rap took shape and took over.  When I started rolling around in my Chevy Citation with a sideways tape deck and front-only speakers blasting Poor Righteous Teachers, De la Soul and NWA (when I was feeling especially hard) I definitely got some nasty looks from inhabitants of my white-bread suburb of Minneapolis.  I immediately dismissed my parents and other elders who disclaimed that Rap was nothing more than unoriginal shouting and noise.  They (Parents) just didn’t understand (thank you Will Smith).

Every generation has a similar story.  Elvis and Chuck Berry were nothing but trouble makers with all that electronic nonsense and rotating hips.  The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane and the Almond Brothers were pot smoking hippies who made noise that was only audible to people on acid trips.  Ramones, Sex Pistols and the Misfits were screamers who couldn’t play more than one chord on a guitar.  Hair bands came about, and well…I don’t know what to say about hair bands.  The point is, every generation has its own thing, its own view point on music and society.  That point begets the counter point that the preceding generations typically hate the succeeding generations music and viewpoints.

Enter Electronic Dance Music.  EDM has taken the world by storm.  DJs who seemingly have no traditional musical ability or knowledge are selling out tours and arenas with their version of music.  Is it melodic or overly complicated in production and writing?  No.  Will it stand the test of time?  Maybe.  Is it actually music at all?  Who cares?

Kids love it and are paying to see it.  Yet, the music industry cannot help but get in the way of itself.  Complaints by critics and label execs complain that it is destroying the professional musician and his/her chance at a career.  Stories of musicians making less money because of the large number of computer programmers currently “acting” as imposter musicians are all over the industry blogs and postings.  Complaints of so-called talentless button pushers are rampant amongst the “purists”.

What we can’t seem to understand is why are all of these critics complaining about anyone in the music industry making money?  Jealousy is the obvious answer.  Laziness or stubbornness are additional answers.  The point is, in an industry that has completely changed in the past 15 plus years, another change in popular genres or fan patters should not be surprising.  EDM is just another example of a new generation making a choice of what it wants to party and dance to; nothing more.  No one is saying you should listen to it and no one is forcing you to buy a dub-step or die t-shirt.  Just don’t hate on the kids that do.

EDM has had a huge impact on recent sales from pure DJ’s like Skrillex and Bassnectar to the EDM producers like Guetta and Afrojack.  The Pop world has embraced it with acts like Bieber, Usher, Britney and Madonna jumping on the bandwagon and incorporating Dubstep and EDM styles into their major label releases.  New festivals and concert series are popping up all over the place and bringing in huge revenue for the promoters, vendors and, oh yeah, the musicians.

So whether you can get down to “wub wub wub” or it makes you stroke out, try to accept it as the natural evolution of music.  If you make EDM music, do what you can to learn the ins and outs of the music industry.  If you are good, no doubt the late to the party label folks are coming around.  Know what you are getting into before you get into it.  Your music, whether created on a piano or a keyboard, carries the same rights as any other music.  Make sure you protect it and make sure you cash in before the next craze takes shape.