SXSW Panel: Turn the Beat Around
Austin Convention Center, Saturday, March 20 Sponsored by the Recording Academy and moderated by L.A. radio jock Jason Bentley, Saturday’s Turn the Beat Around panel addressed critical issues surrounding the current state of electronic dance music. Identifying the addition of a dance album category to the Grammys as a top priority in garnering the genre its due credibility, panelist SuzAnn Brantner reasoned that, “Every weekend for over a decade kids have been frequenting clubs and raves in hordes, and it’s fine time the music industry recognized that.” Suggesting that dance artists take the initiative by flooding the foundation with Grammy submissions, Arista’s Jim Welch confirmed the panel’s prognosis by admitting, “Major labels are still for the most part uninformed when it comes to dance music, [so] there’s an across-the-board reluctance to develop new talent.” Ken Jordan of the Crystal Method placed much blame on the “hostile policies of the Bush administration that not only hurt the scene by scaring promoters, but also store owners and most notably parents.” While John Simson of SoundExchange cited positive strides in congressional representation and the collection of royalties on the behalf of artists, the utilization of alternative venues emerged as the panel’s preferred remedy for underexposure. As Bentley questioned whether “advertising has replaced radio as the primary conduit for electronic music,” remixes were also given full attention as ideal opportunities for obscure artists to bond with industry darlings. However dance artists overcome obstacles in their path, there’s no doubt that Jordan’s allusions to the movie Footloose have become an unfortunate reality within an industry so blatantly leery of its inevitable future.This article appears in March 26 • 2004.