The last time we published a list regarding EDM, it was DJ Magazine's Top 100 DJ's list. That list has been known to stir up controversy among fans of electronic music, but we have a feeling that Rolling Stone's 50 Most Important People in EDM. The latter list focuses more on the people who are driving the rising industry from a taste-and-profit-making perspective.
This who have read our previous reports on music festivals and the industry already know about the three individuals that top the list: James Barton (Live Nation's President of Electronic Music), Pasquale Rotella (Founder and CEO of Insomniac Events) and Robert Sillerman (Founder and owner of SFX Entertainment). Pick an EDM festival out of a hat, and there's a healthy chance that one of these guys is behind it. Live Nation (and Insomniac under them) control the Electric Daisy and Wonderland series, while SFX controls the Sensation series, as well as Tomorrowland and its spinoffs.
The interactions between the industry's heads generates some of the more engaging stories in the EDM world as well. SFX and Insomniac are clashing on at least two fronts, with the former aiming to disrupt the latter's Electric Forest, and with both hosting huge festivals within hours of each other over the Memorial Day weekend.
The list gives credit to many different roles however including radio spinners (Pete Tosh, host of BBC Radio 1's Essential Mix program came in at no. 7) and venue owners (Steve Wynn, the owner of Wynn Resorts and thereby its array of clubs, including the Las Vegas Hakkasan, placed at no. 9). Skrillex was the highest placing individual that's made his name primarily as a performer.
