David Guetta Sits Down with CNN for Unique Interview

World famous producer/DJ David Guetta sat down with CNN before his set at Tomorrowland last weekend. Guetta discusses the rapid increase of attention to dance music, and the progression of music going forward. He mentioned his involvement in the careers of other artists such as Afrojack and Nicky Romero, he jokingly described the lack of preparation before the trio performed in Boom, Beligium. The charismatic Guetta provided a candid interview that stretched many topics and provided a unique opinion into the underground music. The monetary figures laced in the text accompanied in the interview tells the real story.

Keep in mind this is via CNN, the purpose of the article is not intended to glorify festival culture. The interview does include great footage of the wild crowd at Tomorrowland. Expansion is the articles principle concept. Bringing festivals to countries such as Japan, India, and China will ultimately take dance music to the maximum publicity and recognition possible. That can also read as, maximum profit levels.

Furthering the discussion of profit while speaking at the International Music Summit (IMS) in Ibiza three months ago, ID&T CEO Duncan Stutterheim said electronic music has “no language barriers,” continuing to say that electronic music festivals will, “enjoy a nice ride” for the next decade. With large scale industry moguls making plays for Asia and South America, the global concept of electronic music, and the culture intertwined, will likely surpass some our wildest imaginations.

Concurrently, ID&T partnered with Brussels Airlines to provide inflight entertainment for 140 flights all landing in Belgium. The inflight DJ’s provide popular tracks for listening pleasure, thus expanding the the global outreach.

The International Music Summit commissioned a report presented by an outside consultant, it divulges a massive influx of information and is worth reading. Consultant Kevin Watson estimates that $2.5 billion of industry value comes from live clubs and festivals. Interestingly he says, “We’ve got recorded music, we think that’s worth $1.25 billion and we’ve got a couple of other things, sales of hardware and software, brand sponsorship and everything else linked to Dance is getting ridiculously popular. So we think that’s worth at least another three quarters of a billion.”

As with anything popular there is a common motivator, money. Currently estimated at $4.5 billion dollars the electronic music industry clearly fits the “highly profitable” classification. Marc Geiger of William Morris Endeavors says, “It’s big money now and with big money comes a bigger responsibility growing up”.

The interview from Guetta is insightful,  and he does give genuine thought about the industry, but when presented through CNN, it kind of feels like a business pitch. A happy-go-lucky, nonchalant, low key business pitch to capital investors. 

CNN