News emerging from the dance music industry this morning is indicating that a number of the world’s leading EDM sellouts have began negotiations to “buy back in” to the underground scene.
According to a number of music sources, Steve Angello and Afrojack are leading the way in what many industry insiders are calling “a mass exodus” from the EDM scene.
Rumours were confirmed on Sunday morning after Angello announced, via Twitter, that he had played a back to back techno set with Afrojack at Ultra Festival in Santiago, Chile, on Saturday night.
Guillermo Vargas, an EDM fan who attended Angello and Afrojack’s techno gig described the event to Wunderground, “I think the mixer or the decks must have been broken because the music they were playing didn’t sound right. It was kind of confusing if I’m to be perfectly honest with you.”
“I didn’t really like it, there were no sirens, very few build ups and the synths were subtle and melodic rather than obnoxious and loud,” he continued. “There were very few big room bass drops so I found it quite difficult to tell which part of the tracks I should like best. I hardly even knew when to put my hands in the air.”
“I probably won’t be going to see either of those guys play again,” admitted Mr. Vargas. “I think they might have got too commercial, although, I don’t really know what that means, I just repeat what other people say because I don’t really have an opinion of my own.”
It is not yet clear whether or not Angello and Afrojack have actually reached an agreement on a price to buy back into the underground music scene but either way it will not come cheap, with some “in the know” sources claiming it could cost upwards of $10 million each for the EDM stars to be accepted back into the reputable music industry.
“Usually in these instances we use a formula to figure out how much these guys owe,” explained Shomi Cash, an accountant for Resident Advisor, “It’s how much you’ve earned multiplied by how much of a cunt, out of ten on the cunt scale, you are and these guys are both a solid nine so it’s going to be quite expensive for them.”
“It’s a risky game because even if you pay the money it’s not guaranteed to work,” continued Ms. Cash. “Just ask Paul Oakenfold, he’s been trying to buy back in for years, it’s cost him a small fortune but he’s still considered a sellout by nearly everyone, that’s the risk you take when you swap your credibility for a credit card.”
Unconfirmed reports suggest that the next big name EDM superstar to jump ship from the EDM bandwagon could be Calvin Harris after rumours emerged that the Scottish superstar has contacted the IMF about a proposed $70 billion bail out to help the DJ pay his compensation fee.
