After meeting with Miami city officials earlier today amid the coronavirus outbreak, the festival has made the decision to cancel its 2020 flagship event. This will be the first time since the festival’s inception in 1999 that it will not go on as planned.

Wednesday morning, Suarez, Carollo and City Manager Art Noriega met with Ultra representatives to discuss the possibility of postponing the three-day event, which is scheduled to open March 20 at Bayfront Park. The meeting followed a press conference where Carollo and Suarez called for the event’s postponement. After the meeting, Carollo and Suarez told reporters they had a reached a resolution, but there would not be an official announcement until Friday morning.

According to the Miami Herald, “City officials have yet to announce details of the change because attorneys are ironing out the legal issues tied to the decision, including the length of the delay, sources said.”

posted by David Miller (via Miami Herald)

Bad Bunny had just finished performing with Shakira at the Super Bowl halftime show and was being rushed back to his dressing room when he stopped.
“Listen, we’re going to stay here,” he told his handlers. “The show’s not over yet.”

For the next few minutes, as the crowd of 65,000 screamed for Jennifer Lopez and fireworks streaked the Miami sky, the 25-year-old Puerto Rican rapper lingered on the field. He danced with friends, posed for photos in his glittering, Swarovski-encrusted suit and took a moment — just a moment — to revel in the fact that in a handful of years, he had gone from bagging groceries at a supermarket to all of this.

In just a few years, Bad Bunny has remade reggaeton with his inclusive politics, freaky fashion and moody trap beats, challenging the genre’s deeply rooted stylistic and social norms while becoming one of the most streamed artists on earth.

At the same time, he has blazed new paths in the broader American market, churning out chart-topping hits with the likes of Cardi B and Drake and playing the country’s biggest arenas, all without the backing of a major label and all while rapping almost exclusively in Spanish.

He travels with a tight-knit entourage of young men who have known him long before he was famous: arty kids who would generally rather smoke weed, listen to Travis Scott and dye their hair new shades of neon than go to celebrity-studded events.

During All-Star weekend, they skipped parties thrown by DJ Khaled and Megan Thee Stallion. Bad Bunny tucked into bed early, except for one night when he stayed up until 4 a.m. recording a song with fellow Puerto Rican rapper Myke Towers.

“People think we’re living the life,” says his friend Jesus Hernandez. “They think we’re going to after-parties, going to strip clubs. That almost never happens.” He sounds only a little bit disappointed.
After All-Star weekend had ended and the Chicago snow had turned to a cold rain, he and his friends were preparing to film a music video. As they chose their outfits, they listened to salsa.

“I don’t think I’ve ever felt as good as I do right now,” he says, flashing a smile. “The plan right now is just to enjoy everything.”

posted by David Miller (via LA Times)

Roland US’ Matt Chocione goes through a detailed breakdown of the powerful and ultra-portable Roland 707M aimed at mobile DJs.

posted by David Miller

Stlndrms lays down a fresh beat in his home studio in Atlanta. Using his brand new Serato Studio sound pack, he explains his use of the SP303, SP404, and what his major keys are for creating great beats.

posted by David Miller

The DJ short edit is a way to play just the best or most impactful parts of the tracks you are playing. Short edits are great because not only do they suit fast mixing styles, but also when a song is getting old, they let you play just enough of it for your audience without them getting bored.

posted by David Miller (via Digital DJ Tips)

Rock Band studio Harmonix is back with another music game — only this time, it’s about mashing songs together. The new title is called Fuser, and the developer describes it as “a non-stop virtual music festival where you control the music.” The idea is that you play as a DJ, fusing popular songs together to excite the crowd. There will be a single-player campaign, a freestyle mode for playing with new musical ideas, and multiplayer where you can both compete and collaborate with other players.

Of course, the most important part of a game like this is the musical selection, and Harmonix says that the game will include more than 100 licensed tracks, including the likes of “In Da Club” and “bad guy,” along with meme-worthy additions like “All Star” and “Old Town Road.” These should be ideal for the social aspect, where players can share their mashup creations with others online.

posted by David Miller (via the verge)

In the wake of KAOS’ closing, one casino nightlife executive says it’s now a “buyer’s market” for talent. Others predict a 2020 recession for the business

DJ paychecks were growing in Las Vegas last year even as average salaries worldwide for the highest-paid electronic dance-music acts declined 12% from 2017 to 2018, and EDM’s share of the recorded-music market slid from 3.5% to 3%, according to a 2019 study by the International Music Summit. But, with the autumn 2019 implosion of The Palms’ KAOS nightclub and its reported $60-million deal with Marshmello, DJs may see their hot streak start to cool in Vegas, too. .

Music-business sources tell Billboard that a superstar DJ, like Calvin Harris, Tiësto, Diplo or The Chainsmokers, can still pull in a low seven-figure fee for a single club appearance, and upwards of $300,000 a show for residencies. “It’s steadily gone up in Vegas,” says Randy Phillips, the veteran promoter who recently stepped down as CEO of EDM festival company LiveStyle but retains an ownership stake. “The superstars are on multi-year, multi-week deals at some of the bigger hotels. Electronic music, and the DJ, is very compelling entertainment when you’re going away for a weekend to get wild and crazy.”

EDM’s popularity in Vegas has gone through “gullies” over the past five years, says Phillips, but overall the trajectory for DJs’ salaries is up. The latest dip came in November, when the Palms abruptly shuttered its KAOS night and dayclub after just seven months because, management told financial analysts, the club had lost $13.2 million in its first year and the economics weren’t working. In addition to the record two-year $60-million residency it had reportedly struck with Marshmello — what amounted to $600,000 a show for 100 shows — the club was paying some DJs just as much for a single appearance, which a music-industry source says was 400% to 500% more than the market norm.

Meanwhile, the low-end of the pay scale has stayed virtually the same from 2015 to 2019: DJs in this class make $10,000 to $30,000 a show, but demand is not what it used to be. “A lot of DJs in that $30-75K a night range did well when EDM was booming, but weren’t big enough to keep bringing people,” says Matt
Colon, Steve Aoki’s longtime manager:

Vegas clubs are also hedging their bets by putting hip-hop and open-format DJs in rotation with electronic dance music . “Music is splintering – people want to hear all different things,” says Christie. “We’re entering a new era of consumer taste.”

posted by David Miller (via billboard)

The Weeknd is now three singles into the release rollout of his upcoming album After Hours due out March 20 via XO Records and Republic Records. Following the bloody and trippy visuals that mixed in a little bit of Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas for good measure in “Heartless” and the continuation of the drugged out and emotional “Blinding Lights”, the Toronto superstar returned earlier this week with his latest single “After Hours”.

Now he’s announced a forthcoming After Hours tour kicking off in North America this June and winding through Europe in October.

The Weeknd has also enlisted the talents of Sabrina Claudio, Don Toliver and 88GLAM as his openers. Tickets will be available for purchase starting Friday, February 28.

posted by David Miller (via hypebeast)

Find out what inspired DJ W!ld, Loco Dice, Andy C and Kenny Dope to start playing vinyl in our “For our record” series.

posted by David Miller (via Pioneer DJ)

Eminem’s “Rap God” is a six-minute tour de force, which finds the Detroit MC showing off a head-spinning display of lyricism while referencing over a dozen rappers. It also got into the Guinness World Records for most words in a hit single. The video, directed by Rich Lee, finds Em parodying Max Headroom and features other pop culture references from media like The Walking Dead, The Matrix and Hellraiser. The song has been certified four times platinum by the RIAA.

posted by David Miller (via XXL)

International media house Cercle is known for taking some of the best house and techno DJs and recording live sets in cinematic locations. Whether it is Adriatique at the snowy French Alps, Carl Cox at a historic Château de Chambord, or Nina Kraviz inside the Effiel tour, Cercle is continuing to find the best locations for their sets. Recently, they invited Lee Burridge to play their first-ever set in the beautiful coastal city of Bali.

Floating 100 meters over the Indian Ocean, OMNIA Cube in Bali serves as the perfect backdrop for Burridge’s deep house set. Spinning a collection of IDs that blend as one, his ethereal mix is accompanied by picture-perfect shots of the surrounding landscape.
Burridge is a top-class DJ with over three decades pioneering the scene, and it’s clear his love for the culture hasn’t faded. Through his set, he took the chance to join the crowd in dance at the Indonesian resort.

posted by David Miller (via dancingastronaut)

For those hoping that Rage Against the Machine’s tour wouldn’t be limited, well, you’re in luck.

The band will play a large-scale tour that kicks off in El Paso in March, as previously reported. The proceeds from the El Paso show, along with their shows in Las Cruces, New Mexico and Glendale, Arizona, will be given to immigrant rights organizations. Proceeds from other shows will be given to other activists in other cities as well.

“Through ticketing, volunteering and band donations, Rage Against the Machine will be working with multiple charities and activist organizations throughout the tour,” a statement from the band published in the Detroit Free Press said.

Run the Jewels will open up the dates for the reunited band.

Tickets will be available through the band’s website.

Check out the tour dates below:

March 26 — El Paso, TX @ Don Haskins Center
March 28 — Las Cruces, NM @ Pan American Center
March 30 — Glendale, AZ @ Gila River Arena
April 10 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
April 17 — Indio, CA @ Coachella
April 21 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
April 25 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
April 28 — Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
May 1 — Vancouver, BC @ Pacific Coliseum at the PNE
May 3 — Edmonton, AB @ Rogers Place
May 5 — Calgary, AB @ Scotiabank Saddledome
May 7 — Winnipeg, MB @ Bell MTS Place
May 9 — Sioux Falls, SD @ Denny Sanford Premier Center
May 11 — Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
May 14 — Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
May 16 — St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
May 19 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
May 23 — Boston, MA @ Boston Calling
June 19 — Dover, DE @ Firefly
July 10 — East Troy, WI @ Alpine Valley Music Theatre
July 13 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
July 17 — Ottawa, ON @ Ottawa Bluesfest
July 18 — Festival d’Été de Québec @ Festival d’Été de Québec
July 21 — Hamilton, ON @ FirstOntario Centre
July 23 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
July 27 — Buffalo, NY @ KeyBank Center
July 29 — Cleveland, OH @ Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
July 31 — Pittsburgh, PA @ PPG Paints Arena
August 2 — Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
August 4 — Washington DC @ Capital One Arena
August 7 — Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
August 10 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
August 11 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
August 28 — Leeds, UK @ Leeds Festival
August 30 — Reading, UK @ Reading Festival
September 1 — Paris, France @ Rock En Seine Festival
September 4 — Stradbally Laois, Ireland @ Electric Picnic Festival
September 6 — Berlin, Germany @ Lollapalooza Berlin Festival
September 8 — Prague, Czech Republic @ O2 Arena
September 10 — Krakow, Poland @ Tauron Arena

posted by David Miller