worldmusic.blog proudly publishes four issues of annual year-end coverage: Industry Guide, Performances, Record Producers, and Songs.
The end-of-year coverage offered by the music industry's huge pool of publications is often limited to its artists and performers.
To recognize the exceptional work of the unsung people and brands of the music community, we honored 10 industry leaders whose contributions have helped shape the future of dance music in 2021.
EVENT MANAGER
Zouk group
Zouk night club.
Zouk Group Las Vegas
Las Vegas, one of EDM's most competitive markets, saw a new addition to Resorts World that landed on the iconic Strip for $ 4.3 billion. The ambitious project was by far the largest development on the block in over a decade.
Responsible for the property's critical nightlife is the Zouk Group, an illustrious event company from Singapore that had practically no presence in the U.S. Established company is already showing Zouk that they have the formula and talent of their resident DJs to make Vegas nightlife happen to change.
Honorable mentions: Teksupport | Space yacht | Insomnia incidents
MUSIC COMPANIES
Sensorium galaxy
Sensorium galaxy
As the music industry sped into the Metaverse in 2021, no one made more strides than Sensorium Galaxy, using EDM on its way to revolutionize the live music experience as we know it.
Sensorium's breathtaking PRISM portal, which the company calls "the world's most advanced metaverse," offers a glimpse into the future of virtual concerts and music festivals. A number of the world's most renowned electronic music artists including Eric Prydz, David Guetta and Black Coffee will perform in VR as part of an Avengers-like DJ team called "The Chosen Ones".
Sensorium's technology uses 3D scanning and motion capture to depict photorealistic avatars for each artist. They have also developed AI-powered avatars that can not only communicate with real people in PRISM, but also act as DJs.
Recognitions: Audius | Beatport | UnitedMasters
MUSIC GUIDE
LP Giobbi
LP Giobbi.
c / o Press
Affectionately known as the "Piano House Queen", LP Giobbi's influence extends well beyond her music production skills. As a high-performing dance music DJ and beatsmith, she is also a pioneering entrepreneur and leader in the industry.
A passionate feminist, Giobbi founded the FEMME HOUSE brand in 2019 as a platform to address the blatant inequality and representation of the sexes in electronic music and empower women to learn the language of the studio. In just a few years, the non-profit organization has opened an online academy for music production, varied stages with top-class partners such as Bandsintown and organized numerous free educational workshops.
In addition to her charitable work, Giobbi is also the North American Music Director for W Hotels and co-founder of Animal Talk, an influential record label and artist collective founded in collaboration with Grammy-nominated dance music duo SOFI TUKKER. As an unstoppable force in the EDM arena, Giobbi is on an energetic crusade to improve his archaic standards and promote a more equitable ecosystem for all.
Honorable mentions: Dušan Kovačević | Jonathan Belolo | Steve Stoute
EDUCATIONAL ARTIST
Gregor Mike
Gregor Mike.
Niche studios
With NFTs selling like hotcakes in 2021, visual designers were especially in demand. Among them is Greg Mike, whose love of colorful, wacky cartoon characters has made him a household name for artists looking to build communities in the red-hot audiovisual space.
Greg Mike started the year off again with NGHTMRE, who he first met nine years ago, and worked with the bass music superstar on a stunning series of NFTs called "A Day In The Life." More recently, he and deadmau5 have teamed up to mix and match a wide variety of textures, shapes, and objects and use them to generate a collection of 5,555 NFTs called "head5" in 3D. Working with legendary electronic music producer, he also hand-painted a number of physical mau5heads that sold for tens of thousands each in crowded pop-up shops in Denver and Miami.
Recognitions: Elyn Kazarian | jeeeoook | Anton Reva
RECORD LABEL
Astral works
Kito.
Elizabeth Miranda
Thanks to a dizzying stream of creative releases and partnerships, Astralwerk's star just got brighter in 2021.
worldmusic.blog's Best of 2021: Industry Leader
To recognize the exceptional work of the unsung people and brands of the music community, we honored 10 industry leaders whose contributions have helped shape the future of dance music in 2021.
Groundbreaking long-term musical projects became the norm this year for the Universal Music Group label. In February, they teamed up with renowned jazz imprint Blue Note Records to usher in a new wave of lo-fi music by releasing their groundbreaking compilation series Bluewerks. Astralwerk released the magnificent DREAMLAND LP by ZHU, the extensive Olympia album by Gorgon City and Kito's breathtaking Blossom EP, among many other notable works. The latter album was a particularly innovative endeavor that included a music video with dancers from Beyoncé's acclaimed film and visual album Black Is King.
Astralwerk, which recently signed Grammy-nominated duo Bob Moses, has also released countless acclaimed singles in 2021. These include "A Drug From God," a highly anticipated club album by Chris Lake and Grimes; California Dreamin & # 39; ", an inventive house track by Chris Lorenzo that samples the 1965 hit of the same name, and" Renegade ", the first new music in eight years by Synthwave pioneer Kavinsky.
Honorable Mentions: Nachtbass | Anjunabeats | Drum code
YOUTUBE CHANNEL
boiler room
Daniel Leinweber / Razberry Photography
As if the prestige of Boiler Room's warehouse shows weren't enough, the expensive takeover of the legendary electronic music brand by the ticketing platform DICE has only increased its importance in the scene this year.
In 2021, Boiler Room's events also jumped from Europe to North America, with shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, and Miami that helped build its influence on the resilient dance music market in the United States. A quick scan of the YouTube channel lets you immerse yourself in “must-have” DJ sets from a carefully curated list of trendsetters like Manuka Honey, Jordss and Ash Lauryn, as well as numerous established artists like Boys Noize, DJ Boring, Shlømo and 박혜진 Park Hye Jin.
Honorable Mentions: Sol State | Emma Kapotes | Cercle
SOUND ENGINEER
Kevin "KD" Davis
Kevin "KD" Davis (via Instagram)
With decades of relationships with some of the greatest R&B and hip-hop artists, acclaimed mix engineer Kevin Davis already has two Grammys under his belt for indelible contributions to OutKast and Ne-Yo albums. But after 2021 it is now clear that he is deeply anchored not only in these communities, but also in the field of electronic music.
Davis is credited to Virgil Abloh's single "Delicate Limbs" (with serpentwithfeet) in early 2021, which turned out to be the late DJ and fashion icon's last original song before his tragic death in November. Davis & # 39; outstanding work on Subconsciously, the latest album by legendary South African dance music producer Black Coffee, was decisive for its Grammy nomination for Best Dance / Electronic Album. He was also involved in mixing Sofia Carson's Leave Your Heart on the Dance Floor, an EP remixed by EDM luminaries Tiësto, R3hab and Tracy Young.
Recognitions: DJ swivel | Randy Merrill | Peppe Folliero
ARTIST MANAGEMENT
Blood company
Death pact.
Death pact
The Blood Company's commitment to innovative ways to activate their customers' art is unmatched.
Their commitment to complicated, overwhelming marketing strategies for the mysterious death pact let the fans, for example, hunt the white rabbits like Neo and Co. Blood Company was also instrumental in developing the breakneck career of Kenny Beats, a former electronic music artist and DJ who has established himself as one of the most sought-after producers in hip hop. Kenny is added to the company's list by Skrillex, Mr. Carmack, Mija, 100 Gecs, Boys Noize, Zedd, and many others.
With some of the most creative work behind the scenes and a superstar cast, Blood Company made a statement this year. And as the electronic dance music scene becomes more and more of a technological tinderbox, they will hold out the game in 2022.
Honorable Mentions: 2 + 2 Management | Wonder artist | Metaton
MUSIC COMPANIES
High-rise PR
Aluna.
Breyona Holt
From late-night TV to the covers of Rolling Stone, High Rise's A-list customers – from Billie Eilish to Tove Lo to Icona Pop – are virtually everywhere. But in 2021, a number of the company's campaigns reached new heights for the careers of their dance music artists.
Aluna announced her very first curated music festival and was interviewed for the pages of Vogue. SG Lewis, whose breakthrough year included a Bee Gees viral remix on TikTok and a pie-in-the-sky collaboration with Elton John, released its debut album and received praise from Pitchfork, Billboard, Forbes, and NME, among other respected media outlets. High Rise bring some of the most prolific dance-pop artists to the public, and their artists – including Elohim, K.Flay, and Years & Years – are becoming increasingly popular.
Honorable Mentions: Falcon Advertising | DK projects | Advertising sliding doors
TALENT AGENCY
Agency for creative artists
Joey Zanotti / Flickr
That year, the Big Four agencies became the Big Three after CAA made a bold statement about taking over their competitor, ICM Partners. Hailed by many as the biggest upheaval in the entertainment business in the last decade, the takeover will bring CAA-represented artists like David Guetta and Oliver Heldens together under one roof with greats like Skrillex, Alison Wonderland and many more.
The financial disclosures of the groundbreaking deal have not yet been released and the effects of the merger may still be fully realized for some time to come. However, it's hard to underestimate how its size, in terms of both market reach and bargaining power, is likely to benefit both CAA and its impressive list of artists well into the future.
Recognitions: United Talent Agency | Medium seldom | WME
