Los Angeles Times article causes a stir *Updated
/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"First off, this article is irrelevant and outdated.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:
So thankful 4 @kaskade 's letter! It would help if more industry leaders helped educate the masses.Dance culture needs support.Get involved!
— Pasquale Rotella (@PasqualeRotella) February 5, 2013
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:
@kaskade drafting my next piece for @huffingtonpost about it. I see the bad weather rolling in.
— Tommie Sunshine (@tommiesunshine) February 4, 2013
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.
