Fall of an empire: Six things to expect in the wake of the SFX crash

Instead of top-down control, think of a present and future that’s likely to see small cadres forming and excelling worldwide. At present, Diplo’s Mad Decent, Skrillex’s OWSLA, Brodinski’s Bromance, LA-based Soulection, Australia’s Future Classic, the Discwoman collective and many, many more are all forming and expanding the notion of how business growth and development in dance can transform and evolve.

It can be argued that social media rather than corporations with big bucks lit the fuse that made dance music and culture explode in the US. Thus, SFX starting its billion dollar buying spree in 2012 was an attempt to capitalise on an explosive commodity. The company wasn't actually the spark that lit the fuse of the movement.

SFX was too many steps slower than a digital-led culture that moved faster and in more seemingly “bizarre” ways than ever before. In effectively placing a box around EDM, that meant the company was doomed to be the thing hurt most when the explosive energy around EDM finally slowed down in 2015.

Marcus Dowling is a freelance journalist and regular contributor to Mixmag. Follow him on Twitter

Patch Keyes is a freelance illustrator and regular contributor to Mixmag. Follow him on Twitter