​All the Highlights as the Electronic Music Industry Gathers for EDMBiz

In the sweltering 110 degree heat of Las Vegas in June, the electronic music industry converged for the third iteration of EDMbiz at the Cosmopolitan Hotel. The conference, a sibling event to EDC Las Vegas, brought together everyone from upstart hopefuls to scene leaders and industry careerists for two days of panels with topics ranging from the future of dance music journalism to festival culture and the urban ecosystem.

An early highlight on day one was a candid discussion about drugs and dance music, during which BBC radio host B.Traits and Dr. Dale Carrison of the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. The focus was on, refreshingly, harm reduction and education.

The group discussed how festivals and promoters are wary of introducing drug testing kits to their events because doing so is considered an implicit acknowledgment of substance use to the municipalities in which they take place. It's this kind of rigid, ineffective reasoning that has hindered progression, but bringing DJs and doctors into the larger conversation is a necessary step towards a functional understanding of drug use in music culture.

Afterwards, a dude-heavy conglomeration of dance music's editorial luminaries piled on stage for a bit of self-congratulatory banter led by the recently de-bearded Tommie Sunshine. Proceedings perked up, though, when THUMP Managing Editor Jemayel Khawaja challenged his peers for recycling articles from 'original content creators.'

Both Pioneer and Native Instruments showcased new technologies on day one. The former's Kuvo platform is intended to merge social interaction with live-information about the music being played in clubs around the world. NI debuted Stems, a platform that breaks down tracks into individual components, with which DJs can compose mixes and remixes live while on stage. At the very least, the innovation will further separate the artists from the push play DJs.

Early on day two, during the Tech Innovation and Disruptive Platforms panel, Monstercat Records head Mike Darlington voiced an idea that the integration of virtual reality is going to be a major component of the raving experience moving forward, a position that much of the panel shared.

A highlight of a panel discussing the impact of pivotal booking agency AM Only was an admittal by Insomniac head Pasquale Rotella that there is a trend against 'EDM' within dance culture. "There will be ups and downs," he said. "But I believe that as long as you have passionate people behind the culture, we'll keep pushing forward."

"It's still growing," he went on. "This is the biggest EDC we've ever done and it sold out in record time." Afterwards, Rotella hinted announcements about further moves into the international market for the Insomniac festival brand.

Dance Music and the Urban Ecosystem panel discussed the differences between Detroit, Brooklyn and Los Angeles as homes for clublife and festival culture. Much of the conversation was focused around the current gentrification of Detroit, particularly as a hub for creative culture. THUMP Editor-in-Chief was keen to warn, "you have to be careful that you're not doing something that is inauthentic. When you're coming in from the outside, it's very easy to be disconnected from the city."

The Team Oliver Heldens was perhaps the most adorable panel ever. He introduced his mother, who admitted that she's part of an online support group for mothers of young touring DJs. The reason everybody loves the Oliver Heldens is that, behind the hit mid-room house singles and international fame, he's just a music nerd like the rest of us and comes off as one of the most approachable people in dance music.

Last on the docket was the annual artist panel. This year, Pretty Lights, Nicky Romero, Krewella, Oliver Heldens, 3LAU, HooknSling, and Z-Trip took to the stage. Early on, Romero stated he'd never been as scared or nervous as when he played the main stage at Coachella.

Z-Trip introduced himself by saying "Hi. I'm a short order cook at Denny's. I dunno how I got up here," but the DJ veteran, who will perform three times at EDC Las Vegas, was a wealth of knowledge and humility. He admitted to showing up to gigs early to scope out the crowd's reactions before performing.

The conversation got somewhere near heated for a moment when Z-Trip insisted on the importance of spontaneity and variability in DJ sets. Nicky Romero and 3lau countered by mentioning the pressure of one hour sets every week, but Trip ended the conversation with "We're not David Copperfield or Beyonce, motherfuckers! We're DJs!"

Jahan of Krewella called out a lot of fast-rising DJs for being cocky and losing touch with their souls and commended 3lau, Nicky Romero, and W&W for keeping their shit together under all the bright lights. This kicked off a conversation on the way that success can affect the psychology of many performers. "Success will always kind of change you," said Heldens. "But it's up to you if it will be positive or if it will make you an asshole." And then the crowd found out that Oliver can not only beatbox, but is a pretty handy dancer.

The artist panel was a lively end to EDMBiz, a conference that continues to grow in influence as it nears its fifth year in existence.