Every year, people from a wide range of backgrounds come together to enjoy the music and culture that EDM festivals and raves have to offer. Ultimately, the scene appeals to people because of the syllabus-free dancing and the judgement-free vibes.
EDM truly embodies this generation; it’s absolutely booming. No wonder the industry is estimated to be worth 6.2 billion a year.
In the beginning, raves were small and very secretive. Today, the commercialization of the rave scene has led to larger venues becoming the norm. Although the media gives off some negative stereotypes about these events, it is important to debunk these myths on an individual basis and know that the rave culture is generally filled with love and unity.
Some may argue that these large events aren’t even raves at all, but rather “massives,” the term coined for a large EDM festival. Large festivals, such as Paradiso, EDC or Tomorrowland, are held in the same location year after year with reoccurring themes and wildly decorated stages with large, moving visuals and laser shows.
EDM has been, in many ways, commercialized by large corporations, such as Insomniac. This has allowed the EDM business to grow to enormous proportions by unfairly charging devoted fans absurdly high prices for festival passes. The SNL short called When Will the Bass Drop makes fun of this element of EDM business.
Fans must ask themselves whether corporate dollars taint what rave culture is all about, or simply marvel in the fact that EDM is evolving and thriving. Just because people make a lot of money off of these events doesn’t mean they aren’t fun and totally life-changing.
The move to larger venues has made what was once an underground counterculture more open to the public. In a way, this could be safer because they are regulated and have medics and law enforcement on standby in case someone gets hurt. But people question the authenticity of “ravers” today and the musical talent of DJs who could be simply pressing play on a computer.
In any case, the corporatization of raves has become a way of profit for many clubs, DJs and producers. The competitive business of producing and marketing to attract people to large events has inadvertently compromised the traditional rave scene. Promoters and “branding” EDM parties believe that they are taking EDM to the next level, allowing the scene to evolve and expand, which could in fact allow EDM and raving to gain more cultural legitimacy.
People go to raves to connect and be inspired by complete strangers who share one common passion: peace, love, unity, respect, and really, really insane drops that make you want to dance like crazy. There is definitely still value to the cultural aspects of raving, despite what corporate interests have to say.
