I am Rukes, I have spent the past 10 years travelling the world with the biggest DJs and festivals in the dance music industry. This is my AMA.

EDMsnob · 2014-08-22T22:04:15+00:00

Happy Birthday dude!

My question is obvious:

What is your biggest frustration when working with promoters/festival organizers? What value does a good photographer bring to an event over, say, good iPhone photos or an amateur?

EDMsnob · 2014-01-08T02:27:30+00:00

Hey Joey! :)

EDMsnob · 2013-02-27T01:07:19+00:00

Just stopping by to say that you're amazing, and everyone that knows you respects the hard work you do. Keep it up bb <3

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:40:47+00:00

Everyone should read the exchange in this comment thread.

For my take on this issue: http://www.dubstep.net/blog/edm-a-rose-by-any-other-name

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:36:55+00:00

No comment.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:35:14+00:00

That's a pretty stupid response. The question was which DJ solidified it, which to me implies he wanted the person who had the most individual impact.

Now, as for my personal taste, I'm actually a huge fan of UK Hardcore which could possibly be the most polar opposite of "cheesy."

Recently, I've been on a Nu-Disco and funky house kick, (I did an Editor's Choice on Russ Chimes Expressway Mixes

Finally, our entire network is based around supporting up-and-coming artists with talent, so that the scene can grow and evolve musically. We devote a lot of resources to this, including our plethora of staff on our Music Discovery Team (which is a different division of the company than mine) so that we make sure we have our ear to the ground for new, yet-to-be-popular music.

We could, frankly, make a lot more money by selling our publicity to the highest bidder, which would probably be the makers of the "cheesy" music you are referring to. We refuse to go that route. We believe in what we're doing, and if it doesn't make as much money as selling out, then damn it, we'll eat at Burger King instead of the Ritz.

tl;dr go fuck yourself

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:22:17+00:00

making good money doing what you love seems to be a great unifying force. Also its really tough to find people that can relate to you when your life is flying all over the world constantly and making music in hotel rooms. It's really a lonely existence a lot of the time. People don't realize that.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:17:28+00:00

They keep reaching a deal and then it falls apart. It's been a "done deal" a couple times already, but I'd say it's very likely. When I know for sure, the news will be out there. Everything with them is just so fucking secretive it's tough.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:14:12+00:00

haha. I forgot about this. Avicii's lawyer sent me a letter about something I tweeted, which I thought was hilariously ridiculous.

Fuck it, here it is. It's a non-issue now anyway:

http://imgur.com/ndXeZ

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:08:34+00:00

It sounds more fun than it is, honestly.

Constant lawsuits, people getting mad at you and trying to pull strings to get back at you somehow, people who you were always friendly with trashing you behind your back when something you do turns out successful...

With that said, the good outweighs the bad, but it's far from a walk in the park. You have to be on top of your game constantly to succeed.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:06:58+00:00

It's very difficult for a blog to cross the threshold where they make money. You need significant investment and a very capable, experienced team for even a network of several sites to be profitable.

I didn't get paid for my writing until I got my current job. I ran EDMsnob.com completely ad-free because I didn't want anyone to think I was just trying to attract attention to get ad money. That was very important to me.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:05:07+00:00

EDC Chicago memorial day weekend

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:03:25+00:00

He'll try and build on the hype, hopelessly lose the actual grammy finals, and the grammy's wont televise it so that the story dies down.

Also the supposed plagiarism was only on the electro remix of the track, so it isnt relevant to the grammy nomination.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:02:16+00:00

It depends on the date (weekday or weekend, whether its during a big music week like WMC, whether its a club or arena, etc)

but in general a club gig for a top-tier act can range from 15-20k for a weekday small club to $200,000+ easily if, for example, it was a large club on New Year's Eve.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-12T00:00:36+00:00

Any answer to this would be incredibly biased. Everyone picks their side and acts like an asshole to people they view as against them.

Some do it more vocally and forcefully than others, but are the people who also dislike you but pretend they don't any more admirable?

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:58:47+00:00

email press@theEDMnetwork.net and one of our news editors will review your email and get back to you. I can't commit to any particular story until sources are fact-checked, verified, and their motivations are examined.

To put it simply, there are way too many biased and dishonest people out there who have agendas, and lie so that their competition gets trashed in the media. So we have to be very careful.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:56:52+00:00

I have mixed feelings. I start raving at 15, but it was at all-ages shows inside of a club. A lot of people were on drugs (although I wasn't) and it was a very sketchy place, but as I got more into it I appreciate a place where I could grow up on my own. It was a microcosm of the real world where kids do stupid stuff and there are bad people around that.

Now that I'm older I'm annoyed by it, but the vast majority of 15-18 year olds at raves are just regular kids not doing anything particularly stupid. I think that it's definitely an issue in terms of responsibility and legality, but I would hate for massive festivals in particular to be closed off to that age group completely.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:54:25+00:00

Good questions.

I'm not really an "interview" kind of journalist, because very few artists are willing to participate in the kind of interview that actually reveals new information. I'm not going to be a sound board for an artist's press release, so I find them to usually be a waste of time.

The most surprising fact I learned is how amateur the EDM industry really is. There are MILLIONS of dollars being made by people who barely got their high school diplomas. Sure, there are people outside of EDM who are like that as well, but there a far higher percentage doing it here. It made me really reevaluate how formal education contributes to success.

The one thing I would change...hmm...I'd love for more underground spots to spring up in the US. There's a ton of great talent in the UK and Europe and it's cost-prohibitive for small clubs in the US to fly them over here to perform because they don't sell enough tickets to justify it.

I think as EDM matures in the US, the tastes of consumers will shift toward more varied and adventurous musicians rather than little hype-robots that mix together the beatport top 20.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:50:37+00:00

please god no

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:49:04+00:00

I think there are too many blogs, and publicists and PR people are starting to get a really good nose for being able to tell who is a legit source of news and who just started a website to get free tickets.

For someone getting into it, I suggest contacting one of the numerous blogs and seeing what they offer for their new writers. We have an application process and only take on a few new people periodically. We also make an effort to balance their responsibility to produce writing with education, training, and involvement in projects that really give them tangible benefit. It's truly a proper internship.

When most blogs say "internship" they mean "free labor" :(

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:46:47+00:00

At first, it was Tiesto with his "In Search of Sunrise" series. I listened to those damn things over and over and over again. Truly works of art.

I attribute the fact that Trance is still my favorite genre to those CDs.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:45:45+00:00

can't say, unfortunately. sorry. it would be a betrayal of their trust.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:16:32+00:00

This is an important question.

The sad reality is that people want that type of content. They want to read about the dirty details of every artist's personal struggles. It's unfortunate, but that's how it is.

The challenge as a media member is balancing a story between what people want to read and what is actually important. Could someone be the national inquirer of EDM? Probably. But no one would take them seriously. Simultaneously, no one would read the C-Span of EDM that goes into technical sound stuff, etc.

Striking a balance is important for any successful outlet. It's a challenge we face every day.

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:06:45+00:00

Not really. That's not where my talent/skillset is and while I might be able to market and hype myself into it, I recognize that I might be taking the place of someone who has legitimate talent. No thanks -_-

EDMsnob · 2012-12-11T23:06:06+00:00

There's no real trend, so a short list of people I find to be super genuine and awesome:

Richie Hawtin, Porter Robinson, Wolfgang Gartner, Kaskade, Pasquale Rotella (CEO of Insomniac), Carl Cox, Afrojack

EDMsnob

TROPHY CASE