Giovanni Giorgio Moroder, an Italian music producer and songwriter is widely credited with having a major influence on the development of electronic dance music (EDM). Born in South Tyrol, in 1940, Moroder began his career producing Italian pop music in the 1960s. He achieved international success in 1974 with the song “Love to Love You Baby” by Donna Summer, which was the first disco song to feature a synthesizer.
This breakthrough track made Moroder a prominent figure in the world of electronic music and helped popularize the use of synthesizers in dance music. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Moroder produced and released a number of influential albums and songs, including “I Feel Love” by Donna Summer, which is often cited as the first true disco single. He also produced the soundtrack for the 1984 film “Scarface,” which featured many of his signature electronic elements.
His work in film soundtracks was also highly influential, especially in the genres of synthpop and soundtrack music. In the 1990s and 2000s, Moroder continued to produce and release music. He also collaborated with a number of artists, including Daft Punk and Kylie Minogue. He received a Grammy Award for his collaboration with Daft Punk on their 2013 album “Random Access Memories” and was inducted into the Dance Music Hall of Fame in 2013.
Moroder, now 82, who forged a comeback in 2015 after taking a 30 year break, used synthesizers and other electronic elements in his music to shape the sound of modern EDM trends such as the use of cinematic sounds and orchestral elements.
He is often referred to as the “Godfather of EDM” and is credited with having a major role in the development of the genre. He has been an inspiration to many of today’s producers and DJs, and his influence is still felt in the music that is produced today.
EDM & Jamaica
The development of EDM music in Jamaica has been a topic of much debate and discussion over the years. The genre has been popular in Jamaica for many years and is still growing in popularity in Island.
Almost 20 yars after Moroder’s work was established, the roots of EDM music in Jamaica can be traced back to the mid–1980s, when a number of Jamaican producers and musicians began experimenting with new and innovative technologies to create a new type of music.
Some of the earliest examples of EDM music in Jamaica can be found in the works of artists such as Cutty Ranks, Super Cat, and Shabba Ranks who worked with the influential producers of the time like Sly & Robbie, King Jammy, and Steely & Clevie. Like Moroder, these Caribbean producers made use of drum machines, synthesizers, and they sampled heavily to create a new sound that was heavily influenced by the sounds of contemporary dance music. They also added elements of dub, and dancehall, to create a unique sound.
With Drake and Beyonce dropping dance albums in 2022 the genre has seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years, thanks in part to the rise of streaming.
EDM’s Market Share
According to the Ibiza International Music Summit (IMS) business report, Electronic dance music is earning $4.5bn (£2.9bn) in global revenues per year.
The data presented at this year’s Ibiza IMS showed that annual revenue from Las Vegas shows alone now contributes $600m. Global Dance Music Industry Grew 71% In the Last Year and Web3 was a major industry growth area, with 64% of all identified music NFTs issued by electronic artists. Web3, Metaverse, NFTs, Blockchain, DAOs and tech play key roles in the report, showcasing the adoption of new ways for artists and brands to build and monetize relationships directly with fans. Electronic artists also pioneered NFTs for digital collectibles
The annual IMS Business Report was presented as part of the IMS Ibiza conference, a coming together of the global dance music industry. This year’s event is happening on the shores of the White Isle at the Destino Pacha Ibiza Resort. This is the first time since 2019 that the conference is happening live, with 2021 and 2022 taking place virtually due to the pandemic.
Coming out of the conference is news that sales of digital tracks in the US have grown to more than three times that of other music genres. The industry is bouncing back from a ten year low in 2020.
David Boyle, the head of London-based research, data and analytics firm Audience Strategies said, “The industry is buzzing,” as he presented the report, “I heard tons of excitement in my interviews with artists, promoters, agents and labels in the last month. Partly because, as predicted last year, electronic music is back once again. Led by market share gains in the U.K. and Germany, we found growth in 16 countries as the joy and energy of electronic music soundtracks the world’s post-pandemic recovery.”
Key findings from the report were;
- The Dance/Electronic U.S. Market Share Is Stable.
In the United States, dance/electronic music makes up 3.3% of total recorded
music volume, (a 3% rise over last year.) The genre reached an all-time U.S.
high of 4% in 2016, the height of the EDM boom. As last year’s “IMS Report”
predicted, hip-hop’s U.S. market share dropped in 2021, hitting 27.7% after
reaching 28.2% in 2020.
- Streaming Was Up Across All Music Genres.
Streaming growth accelerated in 2021, up 24% year over year, compared with
19% growth in 2019-20 and 22% in 2018-19. This growth was powered by
existing platforms as well as new platforms and new monetization of existing
platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Peloton, Apple Fitness,
Amazon Music Unlimited on Echo. Additionally, for the first time in 20 years,
physical sales returned to growth in 2021, with vinyl sales up 51% and CD sales
up 9%.
EDM is now a part of the mainstream music industry especially in Europe, but as he genre struggled to make it into mainstream in the 90s it fused with the sub-genres techno music, house music, hardcore rave (hardstyle), dub, trance, and drum and bass which helped propel it into popularity.
DJ and artist earnings were up $400 million — that’s 111% — over 2020, largely due to the return to live music and shows in 2021.
There were no major dancehall-EDM hits or Jamaican shows last year. Events like Colour Fest, Electric Butterfly Music Festival, were not held, and stalled Paradise Lost Festival was set to generated billions but have not managed to stage an event in a couple years.
The report also found that representation and demand for people of color in the “DJ Mag Top 100” — an annual ranking of the world’s 100 most popular electronic artists — grew in 2021. Among the top paid DJs and artist in EDM for 2021 is, Diplo who has been involved in Jamaica’s EDM development is at No. 7 even though the report boast of improvement in diversity.
A trip to a Las Vegas or a nightclub in Dubai last year would have been met with Major Lazer EMD originals and remixes such as Vybz Kartel ‘Pon Di Floor’ that was in turn was sampled by Beyoncé for ‘Run The World’. You would also hear Busy Signal’s Bumaye, and just about any Sean Paul hit can be heard at NBA basketball games all across the US. Miami Heat Games.
Damian Marley’s Make It Bun Dem featuring Skrillix and Sean Paul’s One Wine and Come On To Me, add to the modern dancehall-EDM catalogue.
Charly Black and Gyptian have also found success with EDM, via both remixes and original tracks.
It is not known whether Moroder ever visited Jamaica or got any inspiration from the island but Billboard.com tells the story of how EDM is as Jamaican as Ackee And Saltfish. One which suggests that successful EDM DJs and events are actually the offspring of King Tubby, the Jamaican engineer who prioneered dub-music in the 1960s and 70s.
“EDM DJs who dissect and otherwise manipulate their tracks while playing live, are following an innovation established by the brilliant Jamaican engineer, sound system owner-selector, the late King Tubby (born Osbourne Ruddock). While working as a disc cutter for Duke Reid and using a two-track recording console, Tubby eliminated vocal and instrumental segments, sometimes stripping a song down to a single thunderous bass line – which he embellished with echo and reverb effects – in a process called dub. Because of his expertise with electronics, Tubby was able to recreate the dub effects live on his sound system, something no one had ever heard, making his set the most popular of the early 70s,” Billboard reported.
