There are two ways to catch a wave: you can paddle really hard to get to the correct spot or you can spot the wave early and casually drift to the sweet spot. Waves are all about being in the right place at the right time.
At 16-years-old, Sonny Moore ran from home and booked a one-way plane ticket from Los Angeles to Georgia to join a punk rock band he met on Myspace. At the same time, screamo and social networks had collided to form a megawave. Bands with small budgets could now reach a massive audience without having to spend any money. Sonny's band, From First To Last, caught on and aggressively used Myspace to market themselves and book shows. The bands popularity surged as fans could share music with their friends. Record companies came crawling to get their hands on FFTL. After naming their price, FFTL had a record deal worth $7 million with Capital Records.
Waves with the tallest crests also have the deepest troughs. In addition to the rise of Myspace, the new internet age also produced the likes of iTunes and Pandora. With new platforms like these on the rise, record companies became unnecessary. Not long after being signed to a major deal, the record company ran into financial difficulty. Sonny saw the fall coming and left the band. With no money left, Sonny moved back to Los Angeles. His DJ career would soon follow.
Around 2008, personal computers and cheap software were starting to catch up to professional studios. Digital instruments could create any possible sound. With nothing but a laptop, Sonny was able to catch a new music wave, electronic dance music. With the help of a neighbor, Sonny began releasing his own EDM tracks online for free. Sonny would soon be back on stage, playing for crowds of 100,000 or more. A producer caught wind of this new phenomenon and contacted Sonny about remixing a record for an up-and-coming artist. Her name was Lady Gaga and the track was called "Bad Romance." After Sonny published the remix the song quickly went viral, hitting the top of the charts and amassing half a billion views on YouTube. Sonny, now known as Skrillex, has become one of the hottest DJs in the world, selling over 2 million records. EDM has not only done a lot for Skrillex but many other parts of the music industry.
Situated in one of the roughest parts of DC, Echostage's warehouse style venue has transformed into one of the best concert venues in the country. At 30,000 sq. ft., Echostage is the region’s largest standing room concert venue. In 2013, DJ Magazine Clubs poll voted Echostage #38 best club in the world.
The success of Echostage and Skrillex can be attributed to the rise of EDM. The Washington Post writes,“Echostage feels like brick-and-mortar evidence of the recent fascination with electronic dance music." So much in fact that Skrillex was able to perform back to back nights to sell out crowds at Echostage in December.
Is this all luck? Echostage and Skrillex were able to place themselves in the right place at the right time. They timed it perfectly by working smarter not harder.
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