Watch the epic video trailer for EDC Las Vegas

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EDC Las Vegas will return to the Las Vegas speedway starting on June 19th and I'm sure Canadian fans that will be making the trek are very excited to learn about the lineup which will be revealed later on this week. To keep you satiated until that big lineup announcement, Insomniac Events released the official trailer to EDC LV 2015 and it's well worth checking out:   

(VIA Your EDM)

Breaking news: Insomniac confirms partnership with Live Nation

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Major news out of Las Vegas is far from over as Pasquale Rotella, the owner of Insomniac Events, has announced an official partnership with Live Nation. It is still not clear how much of a stake Live Nation now owns, but if a prior Billboard article is to act as a guide, it is a strong possibility that Live Nation now controls 50% of Insomniac Events.

This new ground breaking deal that will shake the EDM business in North America was announced in an open letter from Pasquale addressed to headliners (that's you), family, and friends on Insomniac's official site this evening. He was quick to point out that Insomniac Events retains "complete creative control of all events", and ensured fans that ticket prices will "continue to be fair and reasonable".

One reason that Pasquale offered for the new partnership is to "take our events to the next level" as they will "enjoy access to a much larger and diverse variety of venues and resources." He later stated in the FAQ section of the letter that Insomniac will utilize Live Nation's resources and relationships around the world to "bring a bigger and better Insomniac experience to even more places."

Will this mean that Insomniac will be looking to expand to different countries such as Canada in order to create a global conglomerate that will compete toe to toe with ID&T/SFX Entertainment? Absolutely. With EDC London already planned in July, it is now conceivable to expect more EDC's being organized all over the world, especially in places like Canada, Australia, and possibly Asia. Live Nation has already made inroads with Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas this year by having Hard Events control a stage. So the prospect of seeing Live Nation backed EDC festivals spread all over the world could be exciting.

With Live Nation now engaged in a strong partnership with Insomniac Events, this leaves less players at the top to compete for global dominance of the EDM industry. This is a dynamic time during this EDM boom and what lies ahead following this major deal will be very interesting.

Insomniac and Dick Clark Productions team up to create new Dance Music Awards show in 2014

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EDM Biz, the electronic dance music business conference held every year before EDC Las Vegas had a special announcement from Pasquale Rotella today. He announced his new alliance with Dick Clark Productions to create a new Dance Music Awards show set for its inaugural show in 2014:

As reported back in April, Dick Clark Productions is the company behind such illustrious marquee awards shows like Golden Globes, American Music Awards, and the Academy of Country Music Awards. So to have Insomniac Events team up with such an established company in the awards industry will give this upcoming Dance Music Awards show immediate legitimacy.

Los Angeles Times article causes a stir *Updated

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This is a developing story but let me link to the articles so you can stay up to date:

Here's the link to the Los Angeles article that started it all. The controversy can be summarized in this paragraph:

"Since 2006, at least 14 people who attended concerts produced by Rotella, considered within the industry the nation's leading rave promoter, and Reza Gerami, another prominent Los Angeles-based impresario, have died from overdoses or in other drug-related incidents, a Times investigation has found."

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

Insomniac events, led by Pasquale Rotella, responded via Instragram with a strong call to action:

(VIA: inthemix)

Kaskade also chimed in via his Tumblr blog:

"First off, this article is irrelevant and outdated. Perhaps if these journalists had written this twenty years ago, when the truth was a little more ragged, they could have made an argument that wasn’t so laughable."
"...I wouldn’t dare say we ignore the tragic accidents that happen. I wouldn’t dare say they don’t happen. But it takes a rudimentary understanding of the Basic Laws of Probability to guess that the more people that show up to these festivals, the larger the risk is that something goes awry. This isn’t unique to this music. This is a universal principle."

(Source: Thisisadynasty.tumblr.com)

Pasquale Rotella praised Kaskade:

Meanwhile the Los Angeles Times posted an article focused on Insomniac's response and from its readers.

FYI - The L.A Times posted a Yes/No poll asking the readers to weigh in on the question: "Are cities relying too much on the income from raves?" The current results are 96% for the No side. 

Tommie Sunshine will be writing an article for the Huffington Post soon:

It's a good thing that the Association for Electronic Music (AFEM) is now a real entity because they are the ideal organization to properly represent the EDM community in matters such as these. According to Ben Turner, AFEM "will fight dance music's cause where it is under represented and become a network for those involved in the industry to swap advice and knowledge." (Source: Mixmag)

Even though the AFEM is still in its infancy I hope that the board will come together and decide to tackle sensitive issues such as the one above in the near future.

*Update: Zel McCarthy, contributing writer for Billboard's #CODE, wrote an article on his personal Soundbleed site that was critical of Insomniac Events. He made his points by citing many personal observations while attending Insomniac events throughout the years. Read it here.