All of us take part in the electronic music industry, whether it is conscious and willing, or just by downloading the next top 40 track that we hear on the radio. Each of us, from the listeners to the festival goers, from the bedroom DJ’s to the number one DJ in the world, we have a responsibility to not only each other, but ourselves. Standing up and speaking out against a system that seems to be broken.
If you follow social media as I do, you’ve seen headlines the industry over, “Mat Zo Calls Out Tiesto” or something attention grabbing like that. Did you look into the story, follow the tweets from Mat Zo? Or did you hit that click-bait title and laugh at one DJ ‘calling’ out another? Dig deeper and you’ll find that Mat Zo did something few DJ’s who have enjoyed a successful career are willing to do. He stood up, and he spoke out against the very entity that helped give him a career. Mat Zo wasn’t calling out other DJ’s for abandoning their humble beginnings, he was reminding us all to be ourselves and see that the electronic music industry is dominated by those who seem only to care about rising to the top.
I don't care if I kill my career, I just want to see genuine artists headlining festivals and the fake ones opening for them
— Mat Zo (@Mat_Zo) May 29, 2015
We see often someone is accused of having a ghost producer or playing some prerecorded set. While to some people, this is despicable and blatantly disrespects the art of producing and mixing music in the moment, for the crowds who adore the artist on stage. For others, they could care less, they paid their money to see someone play the hit songs and it is irrelevant whether they made the set on the spot or a month ago. Mat Zo is telling us, 140 characters at a time as you see above, artists should be judged by their art. Thats why we call them “artists.” They paint emotional pictures for us to decipher as we sway or dance or groove or rage to their art. We should be applauding the ones who’ve spent countless hours honing their craft, not those who paid their way onto a festival lineup.
Btw, you know you can pay to headline a festival. Many big names do it to secure the best slots, its about $100,000
— Mat Zo (@Mat_Zo) May 29, 2015
It would take some of the top DJ’s of this generation to topple the hold that money has on the electronic music industry. Speaking out against greed and what almost seems to be a corrupt system. We idealize producers who started from the very same places that we sit, struggling to learn Ableton and humbly showing our work to trusted friends and family. When we put a song out on Soundcloud, we put part of our soul out there with it, letting listeners interpret our work for better or worse. For the DJ’s and producers who have made it to the top, they worked hard, at least that’s what we hope.
Mat Zo is standing up for those kids who decided that they would put in all the work necessary to make it. Who will spend hours upon hours learning something so that one day, one person may thank them for what they do. Anyone can throw enough money at something to get to the top. Mat Zo urges all of us, as I do, remember where you came from. Your humble beginnings crafted you and how you honor that will define your legacy. Let it be one you are proud of.
I thought this would end my career, but it looks like it gave it a boost instead. People like honesty
— . (@Mat_Zo) May 30, 2015
Honesty. There are a handful of DJ/producers that will say whatever they feel in the hopes that the honesty is what gets across to the fans. For some, the potential to end a career with one tweet is enough to keep silent and nod in approval from way over there. For those like Mat Zo, honesty is truly the best policy and clearly those who are here for the art in the artists appreciate it as well.
Take a minute to think on all of the things that you work exceptionally hard for and remember that when you attend a show whether it is local or one of the biggest festivals in the world, there are artists on stage that have dedicated everything to their craft. Those are the ones we need to push to the top. They stayed true to the work they put in, instead of throwing money at something until it went their way. Listen to them, cheer for them in the crowd, and if you ever get the chance, tell them personally that all the work they put in paid off.