When did it stop being about the music?

Along with the DJ beefs, there have been a lot of accusations floating around. I want to first and foremost say that I am a fan of old school house, and have seen a lot of the commercial artists emerge from the underground scene and "make it" and therefore I would consider myself also a fan of commercial house. I refuse to separate Bob Sinclar who made "Feel For You" with Bob Sinclar who made "Love Generation" because they are essentially the same person.
Ok, here is the first thing: Mixmag ran a story "Are Top DJs Buying Fake Fans" http://www.mixmag.net/words/news/are-top-djs-buying-facebook-fans where David Guetta, Avicii, Steve Aoki, Deadmau5, Skrillex and Excision were targeted as buying their fans.

Many fellow DJs expressed outrage and spewed venom against these names. I'm personally not a fan of Skrillex and Steve Aoki, and never heard of Excision until now (its cause he's a dubstep DJ haha!) but what reason do successful DJs like these need to buy fans? The proof is in the pudding as they say, and their fans come out in droves at shows, and it is reflected in album sales...So many people are trying to discredit the big names, and what is more sad is that it works. A lot of people use the excuse of trying to "expose the truth" but there is not much to be revealed. Even if David Guetta plays pre-recorded sets, and people claim he is duping people into believing that he is mixing and paying big money as if it is some injustice, what these people fail to realize is that its about coming for the experience just as much as it is for the music. The music itself these days with technology is gaged more by production value than how well the beat matching is.
But then people say "there are ghostwriters, these people don't write the music themselves." I have no proof of that, so I cannot claim that it does not happen. David Guetta is well known for working with a number of producers on his albums. I don't think that he has no production knowledge though, which is what his critics try their best to sell as an argument.
DJ Excision released this statement in response to the accusations: http://www.mixmag.net/words/news/excision-replies-to-mixmag-i-do-not-buy-fake-fans
Avicii's manager Ash Pournouri came to his talent's defence:

I have a feeling whoever made that meme is more likely someone who has a bone to pick with "EDM" rather than someone with good intentions trying to expose a truth.
Sebastian Ingrosso made light of the situation by addressing his own issue with DJ Sneak:

In all fairness, Sneaks rise in numbers were not purchased but rather stemmed from his row with the Swedish House Mafia.
Trendy boutique Mishka in NYC gave their take on their blog: http://mishkanyc.com/bloglin/2012/05/30/dont-believe-the-hype-about-fake-fans/

Next up: laptop DJs who have been deemed not worthy of respect.

A local DJ posted this on his Facebook and did not even recognize the guys of SHM. If you're a DJ, fine, you may not be able to recognize their faces, but at least understand the context of the picture, and make the connection. I could not let the SHM bashing go, and piped up. The main argument that was presented by the person that posted it and others was that DJing is a lost art that has been replaced by programs like Traktor. Once again, old school versus new school. I would like to ask the old school then if they would trade in their iPhones for a rotary phone...pretty sure they would refuse. This is the evolution of DJing, like it or not. My suggestion is if you don't like it, take your moaning elsewhere and use your energy to do something productive rather than discredit others that use the advances in equipment to strengthen their game. I for one am very resistant to change and am so computer illiterate, but I can embrace the fact that shows are bigger and better as more technology becomes available, and to sync beat-matching with lighting and theatrics is pretty impossible.
Also, if Jeff Mills is playing somewhere for $10, someone please forward me that address and I will pay my way to get there just to spend $10 to see that legend.

Next up: who lays claim to House music
Rolling Stone wrote an article about the Electric Daisy Carnival in Las Vegas http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/david-guetta-skrillex-and-more-kick-off-edm-high-season-in-vegas-20120529, and left Kaskade out. A fan of his brought that fact to his attention, which brought the article to his attention.

In the article, David Guetta (everyone's favorite punching bag) is quoted: "America is starting to catch up," Guetta said. "Is this is a good thing? Yes. Success is in motion."
Ryan Raddon aka Kaskade's reaction to the article:

Poor David Guetta. I truly feel bad for the guy. He seems really jovial all the time, I don't think his intention was to insult America. A couple of facts:

EDC was founded in 1997. In its first couple of events, attendance was in the hundreds. By 2007 (when EDM was gaining momentum), 40 000 in attendance. I think 2009 was the turning point for "EDM" and that year there was a 2 day event in LA with approximately 99 000 attendees on the second day. In 2012, the Las Vegas showing was about 300 000 over 3 days. Its a big event now, but that was not always the case.

House origins: definitely in the USA. Where house has been embraced the most, especially between the late 90s up until ~2007: EUROPE. By far. 

When the house legends followed the techno greats (Belleville Three) such as Frankie Knuckles, Larry Heard, Robert Owens, Paul Johnson, Marshall Jefferson, Green Velvet and DJ Sneak, they were all based out of the windy city, Chicago. Todd Terry played an instrumental role in early house from the streets of New York. But real commercial radio play for house never came to be on American airwaves until ~2010. I'm not talking about specialty shows that featured house, I'm talking house as mainstream music. In the 90s, Europe welcomed the house sound with open arms, and served as a great influence in other genres for bands from the continent. In America, house still existed in little enclaves but not it was not as overwhelming as in Europe. A lot of American DJs were jumping across the pond to spin. Ibiza became a mecca for the subculture. Yes, WMC in Miami was a long standing institution, but to compare a week of music business to a season dedicated to the hedonistic nature of the music...no comparison. That too has changed with Ultra and WMC being increasingly related to partying and less with business ventures these days.

Growing up in the early 2000s, I lived for the day I could attend Creamfields, Gatecrasher events, and of course the illustrious Ministry of Sound. A Canadian with no friends who liked House music at the time knew about these events based on how legendary they were. I could not really identify anything similar this side of the Atlantic during that time.

I understand Kaskade's frustration. He was a huge torch bearer for the House scene long before EDM was the buzzword on everyone's lips. He gets so many requests to return to his "old sound" even though it, like most things with the passage of time, has evolved. I truly think what David Guetta meant was that the fervour for dance music has come back to its roots. While it has been a huge influence in Europe impacting other genres, it is now doing the same in America. 

Kaskade posted this on his Facebook: http://www.thomson.co.uk/blog/wp-content/uploads/infographic/interactive-music-map/index.html Its a shame Guetta's comment irked him so much.  I really hope there won't be a Kaskade vs David Guetta feud...House producers please call a truce!

Final argument: L.A. based DJ/music blogger Sean Ray posted this entry which many of the anti-EDM ilk embraced and promoted http://notyourjukebox.com/2012/05/19/why-old-school-djs-are-complaining-and-you-should-too/

While I agree with Paris jumping the bandwagon, I still disagree with the whole "fans should demand more." I have never gone to a club or big event to watch the DJ, and make sure his technique is right. Purists may do that, but if you only want DJs to spin for other DJs, you're likely going to be spinning on the street. If the song selection is good, if the tracks blend well, if I can dance, I'm happy. Lighting and smoke machines...added flair that I can live with or without. If someone is pressing play...well, as long as the songs on there are good, I'm happy. So many people saying what should and should not be. In that way I've never understood critics. If you are a restaurant critic and don't like the food, 1) its a matter of personal taste, so our opinions may differ, why should I read your critique 2) if they're so bad, lets see you do better.

Having appeased DJ Sneak, Sean Ray tweeted his last blog entry to Sneak, which earned an RT http://notyourjukebox.com/2012/05/26/hate-vs-education-lessons-from-the-old-school-pt-1/. He excuses Sneak's hateful approach for being passionate. It reads like a bad romance novel: "she killed him in a crime of passion." If she killed him, she's going to jail. End of story. No matter how passionate he is for the old school sound, he cannot lay claim to House music and continuously bash others.

I received a comment on my last blog entry about Sneak and how I am officially fed up of his antics despite his "legendary" place in House music history that no one can revoke him of. The comment accused me of "jocking SHM's nuts." Wow, and that's someone I'm supposed to take seriously?

I want to make clear that I am a true House head, I listen to old school and new school, and even if I defend Swedish House Mafia, that doesn't mean I don't love me some Kerri Chandler. I'm not all-knowing when it comes to House, but I am passionate about it, and I also prefer people getting along, concentrating on their music rather than hurling names at each other. I've said it once and will say it again, when you feel angry, just listen to MAW's Love & Happiness