EDC 2012 Gets Shut Down at 2:45am
Close to 90,000 people attended the second night at EDC. The massive event hosted some of it's main headliners on the main stage (Kinetic Field) including Avicii, Tiesto, Steve Aoki and the Blue Man Group. Calvin Harris finished his one hour and ten minute set at 1am. Shortly after, promoters and Fire Department Officials decided to start funneling patrons to the stands around the main stages due to high winds. Most of the stages feature real fire visualizations, fireworks and other sensitive and potentially dangerous acts in high winds. At 1am, winds were up to 16Mph from the South. As the wind persisted, authorities decided to wait until 2:45am to see if the conditions change. Patrons arriving after 2am were turned away and patrons were kept on the stands for safety concerns.
Some were upset and left, but thousands stayed and enjoyed the music from the temporary sound systems set up for the fans. I personally think it was a good move from Insomniac to keep fans entertained even if the main event was shut down.
Other Headliners affected by this incident: Dubfire, Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, Paco Osuna, Armin Van Buuren, Cosmic Gate, W&W, Felix Cartal, MSTRKRFT, Jack Beats, Harvard Bass, Doctor P, Shy FX, Koan Sound, Wildstylez, Zatox, Endymion, Paris & Simo, Gladiator, Mitchell Claxton, LIFT, Steffi Graf, Ruff Hauser and Cromie.
Promoters released an official statement about the incident:
Second Night - June 9th - Highlights and Stats
Many people EDM Nightlife talked to were looking forward to the second night of EDC. Many purchased tickets only for Saturday, as it is a convenient night to attend the festival if you came to Las Vegas for the weekend. Headliners for Saturday included: Sander Van Doorn, Martin Solveig, Bassnectar, Calvin Harris, Avicii, Tiesto, Armin Van Buuren, Blue Man Group, Steve Aoki, Dubfire, Marcus Shultz, Cosmic Gate, W&W, MSTRKRFT, Feed Me and many more. Most of these names are great producers for many years and EDM as a culture benefits from their amazing productions. However, some of these guys are producers first and DJs second, so superb DJ skills are not to be expected, quality music is. Producers like Calvin Harris played sets including their own songs spiced with some well-known songs inbetween like Bassment Jaxx's 'Where's your head at' and more.
First Night - June 8th - Stats
The Metropolitan Police Department and Insomniac Productions have released the opening night statistics for the Electric Daisy Carnival.
According to Insomniac, there were 110,000 people who attended the event. Metro says, 30 people were arrested on felony charges in which 29 were narcotics related. There were 135 medical phone calls made and six patients were transported to area hospitals.
There were no DUI or DUI drug arrests.
What to expect this year?
As expected, Insomniac is going bigger and better each year. 2012 will be the biggest and baddest experience to date. In 3 days, a whopping 300,000 people are expected, and the Las Vegas Motor Speedway is more than enough to cater to that many people. Each year, more vendors and sponsors join up with Insomniac to make EDC an even better experience. ATMs, Food and Beverage stands, Bars for the 21+, General Stores selling Insomniac merchandise, free water stands to keep hydrated and expert medical staff and security to ensure safety.
As far as DJ lineup, 2012 has a record amount of DJs from all over the world. Innovative and state-of-the-art stage design and lighting has been developed for many of the headliners to provide the best experience and set the styles apart between DJs. Millions of dollars went into fireworks, lasers, sound and lighting, stage setup started weeks before the event. Publications estimate that EDC Week brought in $250 Million.
Sponsors of EDC for this year are: Red Bull, SONY, Pioneer, Ultra Music, SpinVote, Peta and Electronic Music Alliance
The EDMbiz Conference
Electronic Dance Music is undisputedly the most popular genre of music today. EDM is played not only in all major clubs, but on the radio, tv and everywhere else. Artists like David Guetta, Lady Gaga, Black Eyed Peas and Calvin Harris were pioneers in bringing the genre back, it is arguable whether it was intentional or not.
The EDMbiz Conference is a creation of Insomniac to network and explore possibilities for future events as EDC and Insomniac gets integrated to the Las Vegas club and promoter network. It's no wonder that Insomniac is holding networking events, since the Electric Daisy Carnival is new in Las Vegas and it makes sense to grow roots in this new setting.
The conference took place at the Cosmopolitan through June 5-7th, and it lead right into the first night of EDC. Speakers include pioneers like: ABOVE & BEYOND'S JONO GRANT AND TONY MCGUINNESS, MATTHEW ADELL (Beatport CEO), STEVE ANGELLO, JASON BENTLEY (KCRW Music Director), RICHARD BISHOP (Artist Manager), PHILIP BLAINE (Insomniac Head of New Business Development), FEDOR BANUCHI (Director of Entertainment and Nightlife Operations, Cosmopolitan), EDDIE DEAN (Co-owner and Operator of Pacha New York), DONNIE ESTOPINAL (Legendary Promoter), MARC GEIGER (Head of WME's Music Department), OSCAR B. GOODMAN, KASKADE and many many more.
Sponsors included Flavorus, GT, SONY, Pioneer, TicketFly and BIGBEAT.
The shift of electronic and dance music moving into the mainstream is evident and the profit margins show it. The music business has changed and so has the event industry. Hopefully some sort of entpreneurial spirit will endure. There is also a wave of interest in attending concerts that have less to do with the specific music and more to do with the experience attached to the music.
Hundreds of professionals all over the world are investing their time and money. Hearing media companies, business conglomerates and the world's largest event producers express how much they back the growth of dance music in America gives us an affirmation that electronic and dance music is going to be around.
Panelist Robert F. X. Sillerman, the media executive who transformed the live music business in the 1990s by combining regional concert promoters into the nationwide powerhouse that became Live Nation, has returned to the business with the first of what he expects will be a string of investments in electronic dance music, the industry’s latest trend. His first acquisition? Disco Productions, a Louisiana company that was founded by rave promoter and panelist,Donnie Estopinal, who puts on events throughout the country.
People like Estopinal are considered “curators or tastemakers” and have the ear of many. Being a “Curator” in the age of social media is on the rise. This generation lives online, but the Internet is a mess. There’s so much information out there that it’s hard to find anything at all. Which is why we need filters. Fortunately, Internet filters exist, and they come in the form of social media curators. They’re like your friend who lives around the corner who you can always call to suggest a restaurant or venue that you’ll love. They sift through and aggregate the endless amount of information on the Internet and present us with the best of the best.
A great example of this in the music and entertainment industry is Jason Bentley. Outside of his role as the Music Director at KCRW, host of various shows and events, as well as DJ’ing, Jason was a curator and advisor for the EDM Biz Conference. In the future, we will look towards these people and sources to engage with.
Among other delegates during EDMbiz were Michael Rapino(CEO of Live Nation), Perry Farrell (founder of Lollapalooza, frontman for Jane’s Addiction, and DJ/Producer), Patrick Moxey (President, Ultra Music), as well as top executives from Google, YouTube, Spotify, and major labels includingInterscope, Warner Bros., and EMI.