DIgital Media's affect on Electronic Dance Music

One of the categories that is most influenced by digital media is the electronic dance music (EDM) industry. Sometimes even referred to as this generations, “Rock-n-Roll,” EDM has swept America up in its sound and good vibes unlike anything we’ve seen since the late 60’s. This type of music has been around for decades, but with new technology and ambitious young producers, the sound has evolved. More importantly, with digital media, there is now a way for these artists to spread their music throughout the world with one click of button. With thousands of different producers in many different sub-genres, it is hard as a listener to get a complete knowledge of all the unique types of music that is being created. That is where the site, “Dancing Astronaut” comes into play.

             Dancing Astronaut is in its simplest terms a music blog, with around 10 or so bloggers posting new music that has been circulating the world wide web. However, it is much more than just song posting; on their staff is a number of photographers (seven are listed on the site) who attend different shows and festivals and post pictures to the site, as well as journalists who attend festivals and provide a unique 1^st-person, unbiased experience from the performance. What makes the site so successful is the respect that big names in the industry have for the writers, thus making the fans trust them as well. All of the content is placed in a “list” format in which the different posts are highlighted by a brief preview on the specific post and with a full article if you decide to proceed further. This allows for swift scanning through the website for those who knows what they are looking for, but also an easy process for those that are new to the site. (Here is a example post regarding a festival that includes pictures and captions: Electric Zoo Recap)

            What truly sets this website apart from the hundreds of other music sites is that they cover every sub-genre of the mass EDM world, giving the reader a unique experience every time they visit the website, and allowing Dancing Astronaut to appeal to a much wider range of users. Another interesting aspect of the site is in depth interviews they conduct with DJs of all styles, mostly including songs of the interviewee to introduce readers to new sounds.  A final aspect of the site that digital media has played a huge part in is the news and updates the site provides regarding incredible events on all corners of the globe, some are large festivals, others are intimate club events. With this, readers can listen to a song they posted on the site a few minutes ago, and then look around and find out where that DJ is playing next.

(An article on a pressing issue in the EDM world with comments from a top DJ: LBL Button Pushing Comments) 

(An article featuring an up and coming DJ in a interesting sub-genre: Andy C Interview)

            Basically, Dancing Astronaut provides the internet with a one-stop site for users to find out about the news in the EDM world and the most recently created music from internationally known DJs. The reason that it is so superior to other sites of its kind is because there is no need to go to other sites if you have Dancing Astronaut, as you can find virtually everything you need to know right there.

Here is the link to the homepage: http://www.dancingastronaut.com/

If you want to see a website that is similar but does not execute as well as Dancing Astronaut, check out: http://www.fromdjs4djs.com/