House Music Has Become a Global Phenomenon

Dan Schawbel, Contributor (www.forbes.com)

About five years ago, one of my best friends introduced me to David Guetta, who has since become the ringleader for the house music phenomenon sweeping across the world. In the Documentary “Nothing But The Beat”, Guetta says “I wanted to create a bridge between Europe and America,” and he did just that. He saw house music as a way to bring urban and white culture together under one roof. Now signed to EMI Virgin Records, Guetta has proven that house music is here to stay and profitable.

Back in the early 1980s, Chicago club and radio DJ’s were playing various styles of dance and disco music. In the mid 1980s and 1990s, house music became a major fixation on the UK music charts. In the past decade, house music has become very popular in America because many artists have crossed over to the mainstream. Young people are now more interested in the chorus and beat of a song over the words, something that house music has capitalized on. They grew up with hip-hop music with loud bass and house music is a natural progression for them.

Technology has had a profound impact on house music in a few ways. First, DJ’s have been able to easily download programs that already have beats and vocals so they’re able to create music cheaper and more efficiently. Second, many of them grew up with turntables so they learned early and their instruments are data files that can easily be tampered with to create new music. Finally, social media has allowed these artists to create global fan bases, where they can market themselves, their albums and their concerts.

The DJ’s have taken over pop culture by producing for America’s most prominent music figure heads and by immersing themselves in clubs and at major venues. David Guetta has produced hit tracks with Akon, while Benny Benassi has worked with Chris Brown, and Calvin Harris recently collaborated with Rihanna. Electronic music was able to break into pop culture because it attached itself to popular music, creating new beats, hooks and break downs. It’s been easier for DJ’s to draw an audience because they are elaborating on music that people already enjoy. Pop culture and house music are now intertwined more than ever before and the fans are loving it.

DJ’s are quickly becoming the new celebrities and they are attracting young people by the thousands. And it’s no surprise because many of these DJ’s are also millennials. Avicii is 22 and Afrojack is 23 years old. The fans buy their merchandise, have their own language and use glow sticks to become part of the overall experience at concerts.

In 2011, the Swedish House Mafia sold out the 20,000 seats of Madison Square Garden in just nine minutes! In addition, the Ultra Music Festival, an annual outdoor electronic music festival that occurs in March in Miami, sold out 150,000 tickets last year. This years festival sold out 200,000 tickets with 73 days remaining (last year it sold out 34 days before). Ultra will take place from March 23rd to the 25th. Another sign of the popularity and acceptance of house music in the states is the Grammy Awards. In previous years, DJ’s such as Guetta, have been nominated and have won Grammy’s. This year, newcomer Skrillex took home three Grammy’s.

Over the past month, I have spoken to some of the most famous DJ’s in the world. Starting on Monday, you will hear from a different DJ each day leading up to the Ultra Music Festival. They will share how they got into house music, what they do every day, why they believe house music has taken over America, and more.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/03/09/house-music-has-become-a-global-phenomenon/