An unfortunate growing trend in years past when just about anybody could call themselves a musician was the sudden lack of originality in the music industry. However, there is a change happening for the better nowadays and I believe it is going to have major ramifications on the future of how and why we consume music, especially in the electronic music scene. I’m of course talking about the rise of “antipop”.
Now, “antipop” is a phrase I coined myself, however I think you’re familiar with the idea behind it. At its core, antipop is the popular music that is anything but pop. In the past, we’ve called it indie pop, however it has evolved far beyond that point, as we see with Lorde’s dominance of both radio and record sales this year. Speaking of Lorde, her album itself resembles this new paradigm shift in music. In “Royals”, the young talent verbally deconstructs everything we associate with pop music, celebrity culture, and luxury. Lorde essentially pointed the mirror back at us and we ate it up in between Instagram selfies and TMZ Twitter updates.
However, she is not the only talent turning Hollywood on its head. We’ve seen acts like Daughter, London Grammar, and HAIM all launch their careers at rapid rates recently, mainly because labels are now discovering that the listener wants diversity. However, we are far from parity. For every Jessie Ware there are still five Miley Cyruses (although that is not necessarily a bad thing). The point being, we as consumers of music now crave something unique and different than before. Every music blogger in the world loves that special feeling where you hear a song on the radio that you discovered nine months ago. Today, everybody wants to feel that and the major labels are responding. 
So what does this mean for you, the everyday EDM listener? It means that the sky is now the limit. If you thought that the record labels were starting to show interest in the electronic music hype machine, just wait and see what they’ll do next. A&R reps are searching the globe trying to find the “next big sound” and there has never been a better time to get discovered as a bedroom producer. Interscope Records, the people who bring you artists like Kendrick Lamar and Robin Thicke, are now immersing themselves in the electronic music scene, most notably recently rereleasing Zedd’s Clarity EP and digging up artists like Paris Blohm.
A word of advice however: do not fall into the same copycatism that is currently plaguing the Beatport charts. A generic record may get you a label release, but it does not promise longevity in the wild world we call the music business. Find a niche, perfect your craft, and market yourself accordingly. Once the big room house fad dies down, who do you think will still be kicking? Innovators like Ryan Hemsworth, CRNKN, and Avicii.
The music scene is always evolving, however this new shift may be its biggest in many years. Whether you are a creator, a buyer, or a seller, it may be time to ride this “antipop” wave and see where it takes you.
Cannot wait for the big room house fad to die down
First off, you didn’t “coin” antipop…you just said you did. It does not have a formal definition in Webster’s, but you aren’t the first cowboy to ride that pony.
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/antipop
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=antipop
Second, one could easily argue that when artists crossover (such as Avicii did) they cease to represent the genre they are being restrained by. In this case, it’s quite obvious Avicii was at a point in his career where he was no longer inspired by the same progressive sounds that made him was he is today. Truth be told, Levels probably did that to him, but that is a topic for another day.
The basis of your article is nothing groundbreaking. Yes EDM is the flavor of the month, and yes it will be embraced by labels, but what pray tell does that have anything to do with Lorde, or even more so “antipop”? Pop music is music that is popular…no gray area. That means Katy Perry to Bingo Players. Pop music shifts, based on the zeitgeist of the time period. Fleetwood Mac used to be pop music, so did NWA. Pop music by definition is not as much of a genre as it is a collection of music that is popular among the masses. That means it does not have the restrictions of limiting itself to a genres musical characteristics.
With the above I have to ask, what was your intent in writing this article? Was it to call attention to the mainstream popularity that EDM receives? Was it to provide a historical lesson on how the music industry thrives on genres in order to define Pop Music culture? To be honest, I am just not sure what you are accomplishing with a piece like this. You offer an overly optimistic view by saying, “It means that the sky is now the limit.” However that is just not true, the sky is exactly where it was before EDM became the new thing. You still need the same things you needed before to succeed in the music business (connections, talent, marketing, and a bit of luck and timing), but not the major labels are taking an interest in electronic music more, in the US.
While everyone is entitled to an opinion, you sum up the entire point of your article in the last paragraph “The music scene is always evolving, however this new shift may be its biggest in many years.” There are no facts in your article to support this. Some would say the Hip Hop movement would be larger due purely to the civil rights and racial issues it brought the forefront of not just the media, but the world. Or what about the Beatles or Elvis, all massive shifts in the pop music paradigm.
In closing, everyone is entitled to an opinion and to speak their mind (as I am doing now). What really grinds my gears, is that you claim to coin a phrase older than you and then you write a half ass editorial that states the obvious, “the music landscape is changing”. News flash bruh, that’s always been the case.
I think this is just kind of a “no shit” article from someone who wants to insert them self in this. The whole pop edm thing has been going on a while and since trap came around its fifty times worse. I personally don’t care though. I DJ and I know how it goes. Yes all these people are gonna be at shows foe a while, but it will fall off like every other fad and it will just be the true edm family again. In the meantime at least there’s some more shows to go to. And if you want to avoid it all support your local DJ’s and producers. That is the safe zone. The “pop ravers” only go to big name shows so they can take selfies at ties to, they want social status, music isn’t anything. So let people fad hop. They always have and always will, to let it influence you is to let them win.