The dance music community has come under fire over the past few years in the United States for a spate of drug related deaths and arrests. Insomniac Events, one the largest electronic dance music event promotors in North America, has decided to go on the public relations offensive. Insomniac has commissioned a study by Beacon Economics, an economic research and analytics firm based in California, to provide data on the economic impact that Insomniac's flagship festival Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas has had on Las Vegas and surrounding area.
The results are rather stunning. According to the study, the festival, which took place between June 20-22 this past year, boosted the Clark County economy by $337.8 million. The annual event, which takes place at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, has injected close to $1 billion into the local economy since it was forced to move to Vegas in 2011.
In a statement via Insomniac.com, the founder and CEO of Insomniac Events, Pasquale Rotella expressed his delight at the news.
"I'm so excited that a culture which started out years ago with such humble beginnings has evolved into a festival capable of generating almost $1 billion for Las Vegas and the surrounding areas," said Pasquale Rotella, Insomniac's Founder and CEO. "It's really overwhelming when I think about it, and I'm grateful that our fans love a city that I hold so close to my heart and now call home."
According to CBS's Las Vegas affiliate, the economic impact has grown dramatically since 2011. In year one, Clark County saw $136 million flow into its coffers.
The impact expanded in 2012 and 2013 to $207 million and $278 million respectively.
The festival created a nice info graphic breaking the spending into various categories like retail, transportation and accommodation.
