Finding the Rhythm

In a couple of weeks, I head to Las Vegas for several days to attend the annual Billboard Magazine Dance Music Summit. I’ve not been before, but based on conversations with people who have, my expectations are fairly low. I am, however, looking forward to going so I can see and hear for myself the tenor of the dance music industry in the US (or at least as much of it is in attendance there).

I imagine I’ll get to meet or at least see people like Cory Robbins, Patrick Moxey and others, and I’d really like to get a sense for where their heads are at. Some talent is supposed to be there too, including Kristine W., The Crystal Method, and others.

One of the things I continue to find puzzling is why dance music represents about 1% of the music industry in the United States (OK, I made that up, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually is 1%), and at least in Europe, is far more accepted, for more popular, and much better represented on radio and in sales. While Robbins and Moxey in particular most likely represent and garner a disproportionate percentage of the dance music market in the US with their respective record labels (Robbins and Ultra), with their distribution deals and clever marketing, and clearly someone makes some money with dance music here, it feels on some days like it’s me and a handful of people I know who are the sum-total of the listener base for dance music in the US. And while that’s obviously not true, what is true is that dance and electronic is a drop in the music industry waters here.

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