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Electronic music

About The Future Of the Streaming Music Business

Streaming music platforms are expensive, consuming server space and electricity. As more people use their services, the bandwidth to serve them grows. Streaming music is less environmentally friendly than selling music on CDs, so the costs of running streaming platforms go up with revenues.

Spotify’s library contains 16,400,000 unheard-of tracks.

As one of the most extensive music streaming services, Spotify’s library currently contains more than 65 million tracks. However, it’s important to note that a good chunk of this filmy porno library still needs to be heard of. The company reports that roughly 20 percent of its tracks have yet to be streamed a single time. This means there are still 16 million unheard-of tracks for listeners.

The service has changed the way many people listen to music. It’s made more music available than ever before. As such, it must continue to find ways to serve artists and fans. The company will need your support and guidance to succeed. Let’s look at some ways that Spotify can benefit fans and artists.

Users can search for their saved music using the “Your Library” tab. They can also sort their saved tracks by Album, Artist, Playlist, or Podcast. You can also filter them using the dropdown menu at the top-right corner. You can even click an item to listen to it. Another helpful feature is the Search icon, which lets you search within your library.

Spotify has also introduced a new feature that lets users organize their music in folders. This feature allows users to manage their playlists into smaller groups based on their favorite artists and albums. This means that users no longer have to trawl through endless playlists.

Another feature that makes Spotify unique is its ability to let users save multiple songs. They can do so by selecting numerous songs from an album or playlist. Furthermore, users can also delete songs they don’t like from their library.

Spotify’s bargaining power is low.

Despite the large market share it enjoys and its large number of subscribers, Spotify’s bargaining power in the streaming music business is limited. Spotify faces increasing competition from Apple Music, whose market share is higher than Spotify’s. As a result, Spotify is trying to maintain a competitive edge over its rival.

The problem is that streaming music services haven’t historically been very profitable. Their operating margins were at most 1% in 2021. In addition, consumers can build and listen to their music catalogs. As a result, the streaming services have limited bargaining power over the major labels.

Competition from Apple and Amazon is also a challenge. Apple, Amazon, and Google prioritize making money from streaming services, which means they don’t care if Spotify is profitable. Instead, Apple and Amazon are more interested in datezone as many users as possible so that they might offer streaming services as part of a bundle instead of a particular product.

Despite the high demand and large subscriber base, the streaming music business is highly competitive. However, despite the competition, Spotify has mastered digital marketing and largely moderated its users’ bargaining power. Meanwhile, rivals are making massive investments to improve their services and increase their market share. Despite this, Spotify has retained its leadership position, and its financial performance has significantly improved over the last few years. This is partly due to an increased user base, brand awareness, and research and development investments. Moreover, the company is also expanding its business into new markets.

The streaming music industry is a relatively new one. Artists have often criticized it for taking away their revenue. However, Spotify is transparent with its royalty payments and is generous with the income that goes towards costs. The company pays higher royalties to artists on paid subscription tiers than free subscribers.

Sponsored events will grow the streaming music business.

Sponsored events offer the chance to interact with a targeted demographic. Aside from visual recognition, this form of sponsorship allows a brand to build affinity with its customers from a grassroots level. Sponsored events are also often subtle and nonintrusive, allowing sponsors to play a role in the event. For example, sponsors can host the after-party or provide additional benefits to attendees.

Sponsored events can also help artists reach a wider audience. For instance, a recent live performance by Sofi Tukker was watched by nearly 17 million people online. These events often have smaller attendance than festivals, yet their reach is significantly higher than everyday events. Sponsored events also allow for more targeted marketing through social media, which can reach potential future ticket buyers.

Organizers can offer different sponsor packages to attract a wider variety of sponsors. Sponsorship packages should range from $50 to $10,000+. For instance, a $50 sponsorship wouldn’t make sense if a sponsor could sponsor the stage. Sponsors should be able to negotiate better deals, giving them the incentive to invest in the event.

Music festivals require a substantial financial investment. Sponsorships are an efficient way to distribute this investment. Sponsorships are crucial for making these events a success. They help make the event possible by providing the cash flow it needs to make the festival a reality. This money will then be used to pay the artists and promote the festival.

Spotify beats Apple Music.

The streaming music business is becoming increasingly competitive. Spotify and Apple Music are two of the most popular streaming services worldwide. Both companies are free to use, which makes them appealing to music lovers. However, Spotify offers a higher number of paid subscribers than Apple does. According to a study conducted by Loup Ventures, Spotify has 182 million paid subscribers, while Apple only has 422 million monthly active users. Other streaming services include YouTube Music, Tencent Music, and Amazon Music.

Despite their respective market share, both services have unique advantages. For one, Spotify has more paying subscribers and a more comprehensive erodate catalog than Apple. It also has an exclusive rights deal with Drake and Taylor Swift. On the other hand, Apple Music has only 30 million paying subscribers. On the other hand, Spotify relies on ad revenue, which could become crucial to the company’s future.

Although both services feature similar search features, Spotify uses a more sophisticated algorithm to recommend songs based on user input, genre, musical elements, and time of day. Meanwhile, Apple Music’s recommendation system relies on a simpler algorithm, which analyzes the listening history and song ratings.

However, humans still play a vital role in the process.

Apple Music is limited to Apple devices, while Spotify has a broader range of apps for iOS. However, Spotify’s features are more convenient and user-friendly. Its social media integration is also a strong point. For instance, Spotify’s social media integration allows users to see what their friends are listening to, while Apple’s integration is more limited. It also offers more incredible third-party integrations than Apple Music.

Spotify’s interface is cleaner, and its playlist management is easier to navigate. It’s also free for non-subscribers, and a human-curated playlist allows users to discover new songs. Apple’s streaming music service also has a more extensive catalog, exclusive releases, and curated radio. So despite being a bit more expensive than Spotify, Apple’s streaming music service has a lot of advantages.

Spotify’s revenue is not profitable.

Spotify has faced much criticism lately, including questions about its royalty rates. Still, the company maintains that its business model is based on giving artists a fair share of its revenue. Spotify says that 70% of its revenue goes directly to artists and record labels. The company also pays out royalties to rights holders. However, the business model of streaming music could be more lucrative, which has fueled some musicians’ discontent.

Spotify’s revenue comes from its advertising and paid subscription services. It pays to record royalties to music labels and artists and composition royalties to song owners. Additionally, it pays employees’ salaries, partners, and other overhead costs. It also splits its revenue from advertisements with its customers. This allows Spotify to offer the same service to free and paid users.

However, Spotify’s revenue from subscription services is much higher than that of its ad-supported models. This is because subscription services generate approximately three times more revenue than ad-supported streaming. But, it is essential to note that only one-fourth of Spotify’s active users are paid, subscribers. This means streaming services need to find other revenue streams or find more ways to convert free users to paying subscribers.

Spotify has significantly contributed to the music industry as an audio streaming service.

The company has attracted millions of subscribers to pay for music, dramatically reducing the amount of music piracy. Moreover, the company offers a great user experience across devices. It also provides playlist-creation tools and personalized recommendations. It is available in over one hundred countries and has over three81 million monthly active users.

While the music industry has broadly welcomed Spotify’s success, its revenue model has also received considerable criticism. As a result, the company has shifted its business model from a royalty model to a freemium model in which the revenues generated are shared with different levels of the value chain. In contrast, music companies have been accustomed to a royalty model that pays them a fixed sum of money each time their music is streamed.

Has Electronic Music Come to Save Music?

If you’re looking for a new type of music, it’s time to check out the genre of Electronic Music. Techno, Trance, and House are thriving genres with unique styles and characteristics. But which is best for your taste? Read on to find out. Hopefully, you’ll find something you like. But first, a little background about each genre.

Electro

The emergence of new genres like Hardcore is a testament to the popularity of Electronic Music. Many influential artists have emerged from the genre, including Skrillex, Sefa, Dr. Peacock, Tubegalore and Angerfist. In addition, new technologies are enabling the genre to grow and evolve in unexpected ways. Algo Rave, for instance, uses live coding to push its boundaries further. Likewise, some artists still prefer to use analog modular setups to produce their music.

While it is true that Electronic Music is a growing genre, it is still a young one. The history of electronic music can be divided into three distinct periods. An early classical period characterized by the commercial development of the tape recorder. The result of computer technology followed a more advanced period where the music industry shifted its focus from tonal to computer-generated sounds. Finally, the rapid development of computer technology has affected the genre, as it is quickly replacing some of the instruments used in traditional music production.

Despite its broad appeal, there are several subgenres within the genre. The genre, divided mainly into two: sensual EDM, which incorporates samples of “real” instruments, and bombastic EDM, characterized by speed, color, and discontinuity. In the latter case, electronic music is often accompanied by intense bass. Moreover, electronic music has made live performances possible for many musicians who otherwise would not be able to perform live.

What Is Trance Music - The Full Story | Armada Music

Trance

Originally a subgenre of techno, trance eventually became a more mainstream genre. However, its popularity has remained strong even in the digital age, with the rise of the internet making the distribution of new music more straightforward than ever. Because of this, the genre has attracted a dedicated fan base, which has become known as the #TranceFamily. While it has fallen out of favor with younger electronic music fans, trance continues to sell well, despite a lack of mainstream radio airplay.

The earliest forms of trance emerged in Germany during the early 1990s. In the same period as techno emerged, European producers and DJs began incorporating psychedelic sounds into their electronic music. In addition, the sound of Detroit techno was making its way to Europe. Using these sounds to create a unique sound, German and UK producers created techno trance, known as trance dance. These new genres focused on the melodic aspects of electronic music and created a psychedelic atmosphere.

The trance sound became popular in the 1990s, with various producers finding success. In addition to combining elements of techno and acid, some trance artists opted to remix popular trance songs. For example, Tinlicker remixed Robert Miles’ “Children” and Energy 52’s “Cafe Del Mar.”

The thud, thud, thud of techno music leaves no space for bad thoughts | Health & wellbeing | The GuardianTechno

Despite its early detractors, techno has become a significant genre in electronic music today. The genre was born in the early 1980s in Detroit, where synthpop and electro music mixed with African American house and techno. From there, techno spread to include genres such as trance, house, and tech. Techno’s influence can be heard in many famous bands and films today, including Daft Punk, Depeche Mode, YesPornPlease and Porter Robinson.

As the technology for music production advances, the techno will continue to grow and evolve. As it does so, younger artists will begin to use digital sampling of synthesizers and beats, while more established DJs will continue to play long live sets. Despite its diverse roots, techno is now a global phenomenon with a growing fan base. Here are some key reasons why techno is one of the most popular electronic music genres.

Several pioneers, including Steve Reich and John Cage, have shaped Electro music. In addition, Karlheinz Stockhausen pioneered electronic sound experiments in Europe, and Kraftwerk was instrumental in bringing the genre to the masses. The trio’s work influenced the avant-garde rock genre and Krautrock and Neu! and gave the genre worldwide popularity. Despite the reliance on technology, the popularity of this genre has risen dramatically in recent years.

House

The New York Times Magazine accidentally championed electronic production as a future genre. The magazine views music as a reflection of the present and the future, a genre that embodies our identity and radicalism. It also acknowledges the mainstream success of electronic music. The New York Times Magazine is not alone in recognizing the future of electronic music. The New York Times Magazine recently featured an electronic production cover story.

Many young people listen to electronic music as a creative outlet. The genre has influenced many other genres, including pop music. In addition to being popular among millennials, it has also influenced different genres. For example, electro-soul has elements of jazz, hip-hop, and disco. The genre also incorporates Brazilian Bass rhythms. The success of electronic music in the mainstream is indicative of the influence it has had on other genres.

Progressive house, a subgenre of house music, was characterized by its offbeat kick drum beat and synthesized bass line. Its earliest form was developed in the Chicago underground scene in the 1980s. Today, house music is the most popular subgenre of EDM. It is infectious, dance-inducing, and often features vocalists and horns. But, for the record, many mainstream modern artists do not represent the best of house music.

Stream INDUSTRIAL MUSIC music | Listen to songs, albums, playlists for free on SoundCloud

Industrial music

The early years of industrial music can be remembered, filled with experimental sounds and distorted structures. However, some of the most successful practitioners of the genre were from Germany, while others came from other former Soviet bloc nations. Some of the most famous industrial musicians were Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, Boyd Rice, SPK, XVideos, Z’EV, Test Dept, and Nocturnal Emissions. Other bands such as Whitehouse and Laibach also contributed to the genre. In addition, many genre artists forged their style, often mixing metal percussion with other instruments that DJs did not typically use for music.

The early days of industrial music began in the late 1970s in Sheffield, UK. Industrial music grew from the experimental musical techniques that Dadaist thinkers and performance art groups popularized. Groups like Cabaret Voltaire and Throbbing Gristle used pre-recorded samples and physically cut-up tapes. Their music was wildly experimental and greatly welcomed by punk rock audiences.

The success of Trent Reznor and other prominent industrial artists shows room for innovation in the genre. Trent Reznor has managed to break away from the traditional industrial genre by wrapping his music in pop and alternative rock signifiers. In the meantime, his single “Wish” has remained in the public eye and is an excellent expression of post-teen angst.

Skrillex

Producer and singer Skrillex has a strong following and branched into multiple genres. His sound is highly varied, cutting across electronic music, including dubstep, trap, electro house, and moombahton. Skrillex uses software such as Ableton to produce his tracks. For example, the basic structure of dubstep music is 140 BMP, and all tracks must be in the same minor key.

While many in the electronic music scene have praised Skrillex’s sound, the US DJ and label head have created a genre in his own right. Many consider Skrillex the king of dubstep, while Europeans hate US electronic producers. The style of dubstep that Skrillex has developed is a mixture of electro-house and dub. This combination has given him a huge fan base and led to the success that he can’t match.

The success of Skrillex’s music has helped him secure multiple Grammy awards, including Best Dance Recording and Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical. During the 54th Grammy Awards, Skrillex won three awards, including Best Remixed Recording and Best Dance/Electronic Album. He also has eight million YouTube subscribers and one billion views. He has also collaborated with Chance the Rapper, Ellie Goulding, and Diplo.

Due to his diverse background, Skrillex is one of the most prolific EDM artists today. Born in the screamo music genre, he has expanded his horizons by influencing the rave scene and creating iconic tracks for the younger generation. Diplo, Skrillex, and Jack U are three of America’s most successful EDM artists. The EDM industry has long ignored the American audience, but they are starting to catch up.

Turntablism along Electronic Music History

It’s the 21st century and computers are taking over almost everything, as
they can make decisions and do things much faster than people. Of course,
music industry is not the exception, as people have been using technology
to express their musical ideas, tell stories and transmit emotions in
meaningful ways for decades. Many of today’s popular artists use
computers to record, produce and create compositions. Because of this, we
have all had an encounter with electronic music at some point, we’ve
enjoyed it at a party and some of us even listen to it on a regular basis,
whether it is to help us concentrate or be more energetic.

The beginnings of Electronic Music

Computer music and electronic music are not as young as we may think,
although the concept of it brings an idea of high and sophisticated
technology to mind.

The genre holds a deep and rich history through time, having its roots at the
middle of the 18th century, with electro-acoustic instrumentation, more
precisely the Denis d’or, which was a one-off keyboard instrument
developed in 1753 that had the ability to imitate the sounds of wind and
string instruments, and the Clavecin électrique, an instrument built in 1759
that used electricity to create musical sound aided by a static electrical
charge to vibrate metal bells. These instruments were constructed almost a
century before the phonautograph, the earliest known device for sound
recording, that, at the same time, ​was invented 20 years before Thomas
Edison invented the phonograph. The phonautograph recorded sound and
made sound waves visible on paper. Before that, sound had been invisible and temporary since the beginning of time.

Shortly afterward the phonograph, the idea of the phonautograph was adapted into a disc music player and the gramophone was born in 1887, along with vinyl records, which were a huge uproar in the early 19th century. The record was a disk, about twice the size of what we know today as a CD, and it would be placed on top of the gramophone. Then, a needle would be placed on top of it and move across the disk, creating sound vibrations that were amplified through a speaker.

Later, in 1930, the turntable was developed.

Turntables through time

The turntable has taken music into a whole new journey full of ups and
downs for over the last 60 years; it has been used as a musical instrument
since the 1940s and 1950s, when experimental composers began sampling
and creating music entirely produced by this device, allowing a new genre of
sound, artistic skill and culture emerge in the music history.

Nevertheless, its success was not that evident at the beginning, but it made
a huge progress in the 1970s. The emergence of a new music genre, hip hop,
allowed the use of turntables to become a modern art. People called ‘Disk
Jockeys’, also referred to as ‘DJs’ or turntablists, were performers and
musical artists who used the turntables to play multiple songs at parties and
concerts, manipulating the sound and creating original compositions.

For many hip hop connoisseurs, DJs Kool Herc, Grandmaster Flash and
Afrika Bambaataa are the ​predecessor​s of turntablism. Through practice
they ​acquire​d an ​astounding ability to find precise points in a song by
dropping the needle on a record and developed extremely high levels of
hand eye coordination.

Kool Herc is widely recognised for developing the ‘break-beat’, a technique
that extends the song’s climax indefinitely. Inspired by Herc, Bambaataa
expanded awareness of break-beat deejaying through his famous street
parties. Then, it was the Grand Wizard Theodore, an ​apprentice of
Grandmaster Flash, who created ‘scratching’, the sound made when the
record is rubbed back and forth.

Early DJs used scratches and break bats to go along rap and hip hop lyrics.
However, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the term ‘turntablism’ became a
concept, an event that marked a significant evolution in the role of the disk
jockey (DJ), which had been evolving for two decades.

During the 1990s, DJs began to manifest what they could really create as
artists and a range of new scratches were born, inventing more
sophisticated turntable techniques. DJs Spinbad, Cash Money and Jazzy Jeff
transformed turntablism by inventing the ‘Transformer scratch’. After that
came the Beat Juggling, which is perhaps the most important development
of the decade in terms of turntablism and electronic music, as it effectively
evolved manipulating and reinventing existing tracks to composing music.

The Art of Turntablism

Turntablism is described today as the art of manipulating and modifying an
original reproduced audio source, in order to create new music, sound
effects, mixes and other sounds and beats, using as the main musical
instrument the dish or turntable. This instrument is completed mainly with
the use of vinyl records and crossfader equipped DJ mixers, computers,
control interfaces, effect units, and other similar implements​.

In terms of DJ culture, turntablism is said to express and represent
creativity at its maximum splendor, since turntablists manage to not only
keep record samples in endless loops, but also to move the records with
their hand to cue the stylus to exact points on them, and touch or move the
platter to stop, slow down, speed up, spin backwards, or move back and
forth (also known as the “scratching” effect, a key part of hip hop music),
all while mixing, shifting and manipulating the sounds to suit the mood and
obtain the reaction they are looking for.

Still today, turntables and vinyl records are the basic equipment of DJs in
clubs and music festivals. It owes its popularity and probably salvation
mainly to hip hop culture, being ​one of the longest lasting technologies still
popular nowadays. No matter how many technologies attempt to replace it,
like the cassette tape, then the CD, then the MP3, DJs are still playing with
their vinyl tracks on their turntables, as records bring a particular type of
atmosphere which people find pleasing​.
A large number of turntablists around the world keep innovating to
establish their own signature styles, with artists rediscovering themselves
to be the fastest, most creative players of their instrument.
Turntablism continues to evolve, and electronic music is still considered
one of the achievements of the twentieth century in music history, as using
electronic media contributed tremendously to develop the possibilities of
making new, creative music and affected musical evolution in many
different ways.

6 French Indie Electronic bands ​worth adding to your go-to Playlist

If you enjoy the melody and simplicity of Indie Pop and the sonic
experimentation of Electronic sounds, here are some Indietronic groups
worth checking out, all of them sharing their roots from France, a country
very well known for their great, deep-rooted culture of local music, but also
for having great French pop artists and DJ’s who are recognized outside
their country’s borders.

Teenage Bad Girl

The Parisian electronic band, supported and playlisted since the beginning
of their short career by electronic music influencers such as Mylo, Chloé
Thévenin, Justice, Yuksek, and many others, consists of Guillaume Manbell
and Greg Kazubski. They mix beats and vocals connecting house and
electronic genres, employing the aggressive analogue synth lines and
percussions they have remained a staple of the French electro wave for,
although with a low profile.
Interestingly they have a unusual background story, as both members met
on Soulseek, the famous file-sharing network mostly used to exchange
music; they both shared a strong interest for punk rock and electronic
sounds. “We both played in punk-rock bands with friends, making music
when we should have been studying.” says Manbell.
It is said by the passionates about electronic music that they are a genetic
mix of Daft Punk, Aphex Twin & The Stooges. Their latest album, Backwash,
was released back in 2011, and it is the result of a project “more based on
ideas”, in words of the duo.

Birdy Nam Nam

French quartet Birdy Nam Nam h​as ​implemented mixtures of different
genres since the beginning of the band; they make content entirely out of
their turntables and have presented a mix of jazz, funk, and downtempo
sound. In addition, they often experiment with hip-hop bases and plenty of
electronic elements.
For that reason, it would be difficult to catalog them within a single genre,
but their style can ​essentially be defined as Indie, Electronics, French
Indietronica, Filter House and Turntablism.
Since their formation in 2001 their goal has always been to prove that the
possibilities the turntable can offer as a real musical instrument to create
new rhythms are unlimited. They have won several awards during their
career, such as the 2002 DMC World DJ Team Championship before and the
Electronic or Dance revelation of the year at Victoires de la Musique, an
annual French award ceremony that recognizes the best musical artists.
Dance or Die is the name of their last album, released in 2016, which shows
a noticeable evolution in their tracks. Their style of turntablism combined
with abstract hip-hop that was one remarkable is a little less present on this
album, as heavy motorized electro beats designed for performing live take
over to keep the crowd out of their seats and dancing.

Acid Arab

Formed by Guido Minisky and Hervé Carvalho in 2012, and later on
expanded while creating their debut album ‘Musique de France’ to include
Pierrot Casanova and Nicolas Borne, Acid Arab is influenced by a set of
Eastern sounds and
Arabic melodies, which offer a wide range of
percussions, strings and melodic instruments, embraced by the genres of
house and techno. In their own words, the project first started “as a concept,
then a Facebook group, then a party, then (almost) a genre, then it was us.”
After their first album, that features some guest vocalists and
instrumentalists, including Rizan Said, Jawad El Garrouge and keyboard
player Kenzi Bourras (who was at first their keyboardist for live sets and
then fully incorporated into the band), Acid Arab have been performing at
over 260 shows clubs and festivals worldwide.

The Piroeuttes

Starting from a very techno-pop base of the 80s and embracing the sounds
of late ’70s synth-pop, as well as elements of retro wave, R&B and hip hop
genres, the duo is enjoying increasing popularity around the world since the
release of their first album.
The Pirouettes consists of Leo Bear Creek and Vickie Chérie, a couple from
Annecy in France. They were formed in 2011 and have released 2 EPs and 2
full length albums, their latest one being “Monopolis” from 2018.
They are really independents as they manage to get everything related to
marketing, promotion and distribution done by themselves: they have their
own label, and Vickie is the one in charge of the whole visual aspect of the
band, including covers, the graphic design of the albums and some of the
music videos.

“Basically, our style is based on the French variety of the 70s and 80s. Our
first EPs were more referenced, and they had a strong 80’s sound. Today, I
believe (I hope) that we have really achieved the modern sound that is our
own: the sound of The Pirouettes”, Leo stated during an interview with
France.fr.

Camp Claude

Three visionary minds, four countries, and one common desire to reinvent
and inspire through unique sounds.
Camp Claude was born in 2013 in Paris, with American-French Diane
Sagnier at the microphone, and the work of talented composers, the
Englishman Mike Giffts and the Swede Léo Hellden, both members of the
group Tristesse contemporaine.
They usually define their style as ‘Sky Wave’, a middle point between a
creative fusion of rock and pop, and electronic music. Their melodies have
definitely a touch of fineness and nostalgia, a delicate mix of sounds and
sensations that awakens serenity with the combination of smooth rhythms
and vocals.

C2C

The four men behind C2C (also known as Coups2Cross) are as well members
of the ​scratch music​ movement, ​turntablism​. The crew was born in 1998 in
the city of ​Nantes​, with Atom and pFeL from Beat Torrent and ​20Syl​ and
Greem from ​Hocus Pocus​.
Each member of the group uses his turntable as an instrument in order to
recreate percussions, bass guitars, or simulating trumpets and similar brass
instruments.

In 2013, C2C’s album ‘Tetra’ obtained four trophies out of four nominations
during the annual French award ceremony Victoires de la Musique,
including ‘Best New Artist’, ‘Best Music Video’, and ‘Best Live Show’. They
are also winners of the 2013 ​European Border Breakers Awards​, which
recognises the success of emerging European artists who get to reach
audiences out of their own countries​.

Our Brains on Electronic Music

Music is such a big part of our lives and the ways listening to it affect us, our
mood and behaviour are fantastic. Listening to music doesn’t only brings us
joy and pleasure, but it can help us pay a little more attention, get more
creative and even improve our productivity and memory. It also strengthens
our bonds with other people by helping us understand each other’s feelings.

What happens to our body when we listen to music?

We all have many common interests, but when it comes to music, the
difference between our preferences become noticeable almost immediately.
However, when trying to understand what happens in our brain when we
listen to certain type of rhythms and sounds, an emotional connection is
more important and relevant than our taste in music.

When a song is playing, the limbic system, which is the part of the brain
involved in our behavioural and emotional responses, shows much more
activity than usual. Also, recent studies have shown dramatic effects on the
amygdala, hypothalamus, hippocampus, and other regions of the cortex of
the brain that are associated to emotion. The cortex of the brain processes
the tone, pitch and volume of the music in the auditory cortex, then sends
this information to other parts of the brain. When it gets to the amygdala,
the integrative center for emotions, motivation and emotional behavior, the
brain releases dopamine, a chemical messenger between neurons strongly
related to reward, pleasure and motivation.

Therefore, music and certain sounds have a significant effect on our moods, memories, emotions, thoughts and movements.

But what about electronic music specifically?

When we take part in a conversation about electronic music, it is still very
common to hear that “it has no emotion because it’s made on a computer
and not with real instruments”.

Electronic music is usually generated through certain electronic devices,
such as the synthesizer or sampler and can be conceived entirely from the
sounds and melodies that these machines produce.
However, it can also be composed from other sound resources, such as
recordings of natural sounds picked up by microphones that are then edited
into a permanent form, or songs that have already been recorded and
finished by an artist, which are modified through the application of this
technology, resulting in a new creation that will maintain the lyrics and
sounds of the original.

So, except for live electronic music, which refers to real-time generation
and manipulation of traditional electronic sound-generating devices and
computers, electronic music is only played back through loudspeakers,
either by itself or accompanied by actual musical instruments.

Just as any instrument is played, a computer can be programmed to create a melody or recreate a sound that evokes and stimulates the emotion that the user desires, and this doesn’t mean it is any easier to produce a good piece of this kind of music using this technology rather than an actual instrument.

Creating melody, harmony and rhythm with these techniques takes a great amount of knowledge, hard work and ear training before a track can even sound remotely professional. In addition to that, trying to connect or express emotions and feelings that
truly excite or bring something to the person who is listening to it requires a lot of skill and experience.

Why do we choose electronic music?

Musical tastes can be influenced by factors such as culture and life
experiences, but our preferences in music mostly reveal our inner thoughts
and emotions, given that music satisfies three important psychological
needs. Scientific studies reveal that people listen to music so they can
improve their efficiency and performance on certain tasks, encourage
intrinsic motivation and cognitive development, and influence their own
emotional states to achieve a desired mood.

First, we must consider that ‘electronic’ is a very wide term that includes a
lot of genres of electronic music. Taking into account that many subgenres
of it exist, electronic music can affect how our brain works in several ways.

Not all electronic music is the same. As in every music genre, some
subgenres can make you want to dance with extreme energy and others have
more of a deep and emotional feeling to it. Whether you like techno, house,
minimal, dubstep, psychedelic trance, ambient, Electronic Dance Music
(also known as EDM), IDM (a version of EDM but with a slower tempo,
quieter sounds and more complex rhythms) or any other genre.

Ambient house, downtempo and chillout can facilitate concentration with
the aid of repetitive patterns and mellow mid-tempo rhythms that are
gentle, discreet and stimulating. Some of these mid-tempo electronic tracks
are free from vocals, which help calming the senses and ease the mind.

Genres like dubstep, trance, and EDM are known for repeating melodic
phrases, and a musical structure that creates tension. Tracks often
culminate in peaks and drops, building up a climax that is both sensory and
exciting. DJs manipulate tension and release in the mix between songs,
managing to heighten the peak emotional moments in the melody, which
intensity depends on the length of anticipation during the build up.

Other elements can be considered, such as rhythm and danceability, timbral
complexity and unconventionality. Research shows a clear relationship
between rhythms in the brain and rhythms in music, which is for sure a
factor in the enjoyment of this genre, since most electronic music is built
around a very strong rhythmic essence and loop-based sequencing
compositions. Moreover, nearly all of electronic music is very much
functional on a dance floor. Repetitive rhythms with various shifting
musical layers make us track pulse, tempo and rhythm, and we move in
response, mostly when done with a group.

Overall, every good music has a similar effect on all brains, as we naturally
respond positively to rhythm, melody and harmony, no matter the genre,
instrumentation or composition. Music develops deep and intense feelings,
engages your emotions and produces pleasure and delight, and electronic
music is no exception. Even though it is still ‘electronic’, a real
instrument-like feeling remains in its sounds, something that disarms the
stereotype that electronic music has no power to stimulate strong emotions
within us.

Although some variations of this genre seem to be very popular amongst
music enthusiasts right now, others will surely perish in a few years.
Electronic music, however, will live much longer and will keep on
developing some of the most refined and recognized artists in music
history