Editorial: What Has Happened to the Blogosphere?

Property of Gotta Dance Dirty

There’s been an odd occurrence within dance music media as of late, with once-reputable sources for electronic music exchanging positive reviews of artists and releases for TMZ-style publishing. Instead of reading headlines heralding promising new talent or insightful album reviews, I find more and more outlets harassing me about embarrassing Twitter rants, DJ beef, and what Paris Hilton had for breakfast in Ibiza. As a genuine fan of dance music and an editor of two dance music blogs, I’m wondering what the hell happened.

In no way am I trying to call out anyone here specifically, as that would just be adding to the sensationalism that I’m trying so hard to rise above, but I personally believe that it’s becoming too much and is plaguing the over-arching umbrella that is “EDM Media.”

Is it really imperative to talk shit on so-called “button-pushers” or ride the deluging wave of hate towards acts in the commercial realm of dance music whose only real apparent fault was that their music reached the mainstream? It just seems so counter-productive to dance music as a culture to subdue artists who cross over into the increasingly wide audience that Pop Music garners. While artists like Guetta, Afrojack, and Swedish House Mafia might not be your cup of tea, you can bet your ass that they are the ones making it possible for some of your favorite smaller, more “underground” acts to make festival underbills because the big dogs are the ones moving the most tickets.

Negative or defamatory news is not news. It’s a way for blogs to get more traffic and it defies the sole reason why many of these sites were established in the first place – to share good music with friends. I’m not naïve either. I realize a juicy post about who didn’t actually produce their own Top 10 single on Beatport will always receive more unique visitors and a swarm of virality compared to 300 words about why the new EP from Club Cheval is great.

I guess my problem/question is where will the line be drawn with some of these outlets? Naturally, the sensational articles will continue to receive more eyeballs (and impressions for the precious advertisers), so in turn I’d expect more and more useless gossip content to pollute the space. People love quick, digestible bullshit. It’s a human trait that I myself possess. I’m in no way exonerated of reading shitty, uninformed media content, but as blogs post more and more useless tabloid journalism, I fear the direction the blogosphere is heading.

With that said, I can solemnly swear that you’ll never see any of us here at GDD drinking the haterade and spewing it out sloppily to the world. We will continue to create positive content about music and artists that deserve the attention, and while that may leave us in the dust traffic-wise in comparison to some of our blog contemporaries, as an editor and founder of Gotta Dance Dirty, I find solace in knowing we are exhibiting a professionalism in music journalism and earning your readership the right way.

Sincerely,

Jonah Berry

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