By Graham Armknecht ’18
THE ROUNDUP
Imagine walking into the Great Hall on the night of a Brophy dance; song remixes and EDM fill the room with a pulsing rhythm, getting students moving and on their feet.
It is a common scene, but, people listen to other fast-paced genres that aren’t EDM. which stands for electronic dance music.
Yes, EDM is a growing genre. According to data from Eventbrite and Nielsen, EDM is a $6 billion industry.
A study recently published by Google shows that EDM channel subscribers on Youtube increased 60 percent on smartphones, 77 percent on TVs and 175 percent on gaming devices in 2014.
EDM is evolving with everything from more powerful computers and expensive programs, to new apps like Pacemaker for the I-Pad. EDM and remixes are everywhere.
While the genre is growing as a whole, on campus students may be moving on.
“I actually see [EDM at dances] trending away from where it was,” said Mr. Pete Burr ’07. “While EDM still plays a large role in campus event culture, I’ve seen us trending into different genres. Students ask for other genres. [We choose EDM because] it’s a happy medium of music. Students enjoy it but it’s clean music for most people.”
“For each dance, we give the DJ a set list saying, ‘You can play all of these songs, or you can play none of these songs,’” Mr. Burr said. “But that gives you an idea about the event.”
Student Council moved in a new direction by hiring Quinn XCII to perform at Hoopcoming. They’ve also been promoting more student bands performances at dances, like having Rightwise and Jack Warner ’17 playing outside before Quinn.
“We have a couple of DJ guys who gather new stuff online from EDM concerts and rap songs,” said Jimmy Hawkins ’16. “We give our student DJs creative freedom with the music they choose.”