In 2004, just a year after the launch of MySpace, DJ culture and related nightlife scenes underwent a fundamental shift. As boldly posted posters and graphic brochures began to slowly disappear for the promotion of live events, underground communication and communities moved online. Over the past twenty years, generational evolution and its impact on certain aspects of daily life have radically updated the way culture is transmitted and communities are connected. Digital viral moments now create an expectation of what an experience will look like and actualize the desire to participate in that experience. Has the normalization of small content erased underground culture or moved the action online?
“The occasions worked because the network is first and foremost a physical thing, not so online-based,” said DJ Khalil Asmall, who recently oversaw the music for Netflix’s The Kitchen, directed by Daniel Kaluuya, and ended 16 years as the co-founder of Livin’ Proof, a London-based event named after DJ Premier’s “Group Home” record.
In the same year that Twitter was introduced (2007), Livin’ Proof was born in a small basement in Soho before growing into 800-1000 venues in some of London’s most prestigious venues. Each month, Asmall along with Snips, Raji Rags, and Budgie have contributed to the emergence of a new generation of artists, curating the first foreign exhibitions through A$AP Rocky, Dom Kennedy, and Flatbush Zombies.
Raised on reggae, British and American hip hop, Motown and surrounded by his father’s variety of hand drums, New York-based Asmall began DJing at home for fun as a teenager on the outskirts of London. At 18, he joined his friends in DJing space parties, making his way into small bars and clubs as a musical talent.
A hub of London’s underground hip hop scene at Deal Real, a record store on Carnaby Street, where events were held and music was bought and sold. Across the Atlantic, in Los Angeles and New York, the record store and label Fat Beats thrived inside. of communities on two coasts and in circles of specialized local artists. “The network is a cumulative ecosystem,” he said Asmall. Si while Livin’ Proof continued to print posters and flyers for promotional purposes, they didn’t gain any knowledge of their network. “I don’t want to advertise our match because other people enjoyed it, it’s not about me, I’m not in the middle, it’s like a genuine network,” Asmall said.
As the generation has brought virtual content and social interaction to the forefront, platforms like MySspeed, Facebook, and Twitter have discovered more relevance in the music industry, even as the speed and order in which other people used those devices slowly evolved. What I would do after an experience — you’d upload all the photos from the party,” said James Rubin, spouse and co-head of hip-hop at skills firm William Morris Endeavor (WME), where he oversees clients. Tyler the Creator, Run The Jewels, Travis Scott, Summer Walker and 6lack “The difference now is that MySspeed doesn’t exist anymore – you now have a computer in your pocket. “
With the rise of DJ culture came radio mixes, remixes, and mixtape cassettes — an exclusive gift for music “collectors” and an art form now relegated to virtual playlists and visual viral feeds that can be shared like the Boiler Room, a roving pop-up with only around 10,000 people. DJ performances acquired through the DICE live ticketing platform in 2021.
DJs have gone from radio selectors to dancefloor managers to web personalities to producers. With the rise of Instagram, SoundCloud, and YouTube, the expansion of a social network has been imaginable for DJs and collectives, cutting off the flat, one-way communication that comes along. through MySpace or even Facebook (events), allowing DJs to become talents, build their own visual identity. Brands.
“DJs have become superstars thanks to adapting manufacturers and remixing other people’s paintings or releasing their own records, took them to the next level,” Rubin said. “Diplo was an early adopter of the practice of DJing in clubs and parties, but he also does remixes. He brought new original sounds, from Baile Funk to Baltimore Club to Dancehall. From the remix of the first video to reach one billion views on YouTube, Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” to Gwen Stefani, Gucci Mane, Lil Nas X and Madonna. , Diplo has charted a new course for music culture.
“The challenge is that now other people are living on their phones,” Rubin said. “You can stay on your phone at home and suddenly you don’t have to pass out. “The voyeuristic nature of social media has created an exclusive delight where other people feel like they are participating in an event by watching it through a screen and many now look forward to those viral moments.
Small-sized content or thumbnail trailers that were once reserved for movie trailers now permeate each and every side of entertainment content. Promoters, brands, artists, and creators expand trailers and short videos that are used to show other people a glimpse of what’s happened. will be placed or take place at an event or exhibition. In turn, many audiences expect those specific moments to happen and want to do so. Be a part of those viral moments and capture them to share.
The cycle of expectations created through generation and rewarded through pasrhythms removes a point of authenticity within a network and creates new priorities for participation. Social currency, follower count, and engagement encourage engagement and motivate all components incongruously to one place: a screen. “I don’t think other people move on to components for the same reasons. People are here now because they heard the DJ noticed, they saw him in the Boiler Room. People now need to be a component of this viral moment,” Asmall said. As an artist or DJ, you’re a bullied guy in this kind of promotional ecosystem that all entertainment now lives in. Lots of content for occasions – that’s what platforms need, and as a creator, you’re rewarded for creating that. content with fans and prospects that lead to customers.
Music, live events, movies, podcasts: everything is “towed”. While there’s an increase in short-form content, platforms like Spotify are embracing authors and storytelling in a new way, especially recently through audiobooks, seeming that possibly “With audio and video podcasts, we’re seeing long-form storytelling remain strong despite a limited attention span,” said Anna Sian, director of author marketing for podcasts and audiobooks at Spotify. According to a recent prediction, podcast listeners in the U. S. will be more likely to be able to do so. Millennials in the U. S. will spend an average of 54 minutes a day listening to podcasts, with millennials accounting for 32. 7% of podcast listeners.
Tyler, the Creator plays at the same level at Coachella 2024.
Since the Covid pandemic, a number of small and medium-sized venues have closed or been closed due to high rents and expiring old lease terms, which has pushed many DJ and entertainment communities online. “In New York, there are no destinations, it’s more “It’s about organizing occasions and moving and replacing places. Music has a big business,” Rubin said. In April, the Internal Music Summit reported that the global dance music industry was worth $11. 8 billion, with live occasions leading the growth. “As a genre, electronic music had the smallest fan base after rock, Latin music, and hip-hop, but it has grown fastest on streaming and social media platforms in terms of success and engagement,” Nyshka Chandran wrote in a high-profile article for Resident Advisor. . .
ESP HiFi, a bar and café for listening to Japanese-style music.
With the resurgence of vinyl culture perceived as a cultural import of the popular attentionbar format in Japan, a renewed interest in live but casual attention is paving the way for new tactics to pay attention to and music in a venue. At least a dozen hi-fi vinyl records play in bars in New York City alone.
“There’s a little bit of backlash in fast-food culture when it comes to consuming music on social media, and the truth is, the viral moment you’re going to see in a club is the one that’s going to delight you the most. “of time. . . There’s a growing appetite for other people who don’t get to enjoy a more original experience.
As virtual viral moments reignite cultural conversations in music and entertainment, the generation has created a new paradigm of community, connection, and experiences. With the normalization of small-scale content, underground culture would possibly not be erased, possibly it would have simply migrated online. .
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