Posted on Sat, Mar. 06, 2004
Dance music moving to the mainstream
Dance music and some technology firms are eyeing a marriage they hope will reap rewards for both in exposure and, of course, profits.
BY CHRISTINA HOAG
choag@herald.com
Cellphones on which you can watch music videos, a device to mix your very own musical ring tone, another that gives you a unique ''signature'' sound for your mobile.
They're all cutting-edge technology tools being showcased in Miami Beach by Motorola this weekend at the debut of the M3 Summit, a dance-music industry conference the electronics company signed up to sponsor. The gathering is one of myriad offshoots of the Winter Music Conference, the annual dance music extravaganza that is drawing thousands of dance followers to Miami Beach this week.
''Electronic dance music lends itself very well to our technology because the music is about technology,'' Motorola spokeswoman Julie Cordua said.
As dance music grows in popularity, companies like Motorola are starting to look at the genre as a way to reach its fan base of mostly young, tech-savvy hipsters.
''American brands are beginning to switch on to what dance is all about,'' said Andy Ruffell, the British founder of the Miami-based DanceStar USA awards show, which will hold its third show on Tuesday in Miami's Bayfront Park. ``They really didn't know what we were talking about a few years ago.''
But unlike in Europe, where dance enjoys a status akin to Top 40 pop, electronic music remains a hard sell on this side of the Atlantic.
The sticking point, music watchers say, is that dance music -- although it has firmly established a foothold in the market -- has yet to crest into the American mainstream. A 2002 Consumer Survey done for the Recording Industry Association of America, for example, did not even list a category for dance, instead lumping it with ''R&B'' or ``Other.''
For dance music to rev itself up from an underground, club-based phenomenon to the coveted realm of Top 40, many in the industry maintain that it needs to evolve from a scene driven by anonymous DJs, whose turntable-mixing doesn't translate well to television, into one that's performer-centric.
''Dance doesn't have a face,'' said Phil Michaels Trueba, program director of South Florida dance radio station WPYM-FM (93.1), known as Party 93.1, one of only a handful of pure-dance stations in the country.
''We, as an industry, have to learn from hip-hop and the way they marketed their artists,'' Trueba said.
But artist grooming and promotion require big bucks, which most of the small, independent labels dominating the dance-music industry lack.
With a few exceptions, major labels, which are suffering from a 30-plus percent plunge in record sales over the past three years, are not heavily involved in dance.
''They've kind of stepped back. They realize the money's not there, the music's not going to cross over,'' said Michael Paoletta, dance and electronic music editor for Billboard magazine.
Many majors keep tabs on electronic music by signing distribution deals with independents, who are also relied upon as scene pulse-takers.
''We're the ones out there pounding the pavement, looking at the type of music generating a buzz with kids, the tracks that are gaining popularity in clubs,'' said John Wai, who co-owns Neurodisc Records in Fort Lauderdale and works with Capitol/EMI.
Optimists maintain that dance is perched on the cusp of the big time.
''Dance is roaring underground, which usually indicates that in a couple years it'll become mainstream,'' said Miami Lakes electro-dance vocalist D'Luna. ``That's what happened with hip-hop.''
And DJs are indeed starting to share the limelight. ''The DJs are bringing more instruments into their acts and they're using more vocalists,'' said Jonpito, artist manager and promoter with Destune Records of Perrine in southern Miami-Dade County.
Some European companies see dance as a way to build their brands in the vast U.S. youth market.
Red Bull, the Austrian energy drink, is holding four ''music labs,'' remixing workshops for budding DJs, around the United States this year.
Smints, a mint made by Spain's Chupa Chups Group, has signed on for a second year to sponsor the $1.8 million DanceStar USA show.
Dance music website www.freestylemusic.com is fielding offers from potential advertisers, ranging from footwear to bubble-gum firms, said Jonpito, who manages the site's promotions.
Dance fans insist that those are sure signs that the genre's crescendo is under way in the United States.
Ruffell, of DanceStar USA, said: ``We're convinced we're on the right track, but it's going to take time to show that this is a very valuable part of the music business.''
Dance music moving to the mainstream
Dance music and some technology firms are eyeing a marriage they hope will reap rewards for both in exposure and, of course, profits.
BY CHRISTINA HOAG
choag@herald.com
Cellphones on which you can watch music videos, a device to mix your very own musical ring tone, another that gives you a unique ''signature'' sound for your mobile.
They're all cutting-edge technology tools being showcased in Miami Beach by Motorola this weekend at the debut of the M3 Summit, a dance-music industry conference the electronics company signed up to sponsor. The gathering is one of myriad offshoots of the Winter Music Conference, the annual dance music extravaganza that is drawing thousands of dance followers to Miami Beach this week.
''Electronic dance music lends itself very well to our technology because the music is about technology,'' Motorola spokeswoman Julie Cordua said.
As dance music grows in popularity, companies like Motorola are starting to look at the genre as a way to reach its fan base of mostly young, tech-savvy hipsters.
''American brands are beginning to switch on to what dance is all about,'' said Andy Ruffell, the British founder of the Miami-based DanceStar USA awards show, which will hold its third show on Tuesday in Miami's Bayfront Park. ``They really didn't know what we were talking about a few years ago.''
But unlike in Europe, where dance enjoys a status akin to Top 40 pop, electronic music remains a hard sell on this side of the Atlantic.
The sticking point, music watchers say, is that dance music -- although it has firmly established a foothold in the market -- has yet to crest into the American mainstream. A 2002 Consumer Survey done for the Recording Industry Association of America, for example, did not even list a category for dance, instead lumping it with ''R&B'' or ``Other.''
For dance music to rev itself up from an underground, club-based phenomenon to the coveted realm of Top 40, many in the industry maintain that it needs to evolve from a scene driven by anonymous DJs, whose turntable-mixing doesn't translate well to television, into one that's performer-centric.
''Dance doesn't have a face,'' said Phil Michaels Trueba, program director of South Florida dance radio station WPYM-FM (93.1), known as Party 93.1, one of only a handful of pure-dance stations in the country.
''We, as an industry, have to learn from hip-hop and the way they marketed their artists,'' Trueba said.
But artist grooming and promotion require big bucks, which most of the small, independent labels dominating the dance-music industry lack.
With a few exceptions, major labels, which are suffering from a 30-plus percent plunge in record sales over the past three years, are not heavily involved in dance.
''They've kind of stepped back. They realize the money's not there, the music's not going to cross over,'' said Michael Paoletta, dance and electronic music editor for Billboard magazine.
Many majors keep tabs on electronic music by signing distribution deals with independents, who are also relied upon as scene pulse-takers.
''We're the ones out there pounding the pavement, looking at the type of music generating a buzz with kids, the tracks that are gaining popularity in clubs,'' said John Wai, who co-owns Neurodisc Records in Fort Lauderdale and works with Capitol/EMI.
Optimists maintain that dance is perched on the cusp of the big time.
''Dance is roaring underground, which usually indicates that in a couple years it'll become mainstream,'' said Miami Lakes electro-dance vocalist D'Luna. ``That's what happened with hip-hop.''
And DJs are indeed starting to share the limelight. ''The DJs are bringing more instruments into their acts and they're using more vocalists,'' said Jonpito, artist manager and promoter with Destune Records of Perrine in southern Miami-Dade County.
Some European companies see dance as a way to build their brands in the vast U.S. youth market.
Red Bull, the Austrian energy drink, is holding four ''music labs,'' remixing workshops for budding DJs, around the United States this year.
Smints, a mint made by Spain's Chupa Chups Group, has signed on for a second year to sponsor the $1.8 million DanceStar USA show.
Dance music website www.freestylemusic.com is fielding offers from potential advertisers, ranging from footwear to bubble-gum firms, said Jonpito, who manages the site's promotions.
Dance fans insist that those are sure signs that the genre's crescendo is under way in the United States.
Ruffell, of DanceStar USA, said: ``We're convinced we're on the right track, but it's going to take time to show that this is a very valuable part of the music business.''