A house act with a history of charging fees above €20,000 per set has warned that expensive clubs are ruining dance music culture.
The DJ made the comments in a heartfelt social media post from his private jet, criticising VIP tables, inflated ticket prices and bottle-service crowds for turning underground music into a luxury product inaccessible to real fans.
“Dance music was never meant to be about money,” he wrote, shortly before sending a promoter an invoice large enough to force the venue into charging €38 for vodka Red Bulls.
Promoters say they share the DJ’s concerns, but explained that once flights, hotels, riders, cocaine, hookers and the headliner’s “very reasonable” €20k performance cost are covered, the only remaining business model is selling champagne and sparklers to men with no socks who describe themselves as entrepreneurs.
The headliner is especially annoyed at the impact this has had on his beloved island Ibiza, and has announced he’ll be skipping any performances on the island completely this summer.
His agent privately mentioned to a Wunderground source that’s it’s probably good timing, given that no events on the island had actually asked to book him this year.
“When Ibiza returns to it’s roots – I’ll be back”
“Or when we can find somebody that’ll pay the €20K – that might work too…”
