10 Ways the United States Failed Dubstep

America completely dropped the ball with dubstep in the past five years. The true innovators in the genre have been pushed to the side and left in the

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Complex Original

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America completely dropped the ball with dubstep in the past five years. The true innovators in the genre have been pushed to the side and left in the dust. As people seriously think post-dubstep is a cool term to use (as if the genre is completely dead), I'm looking back and just shaking my head at the artists that were picked to represent the genre in the United States. There's nothing wrong with popularity. I don't hate success, but these big giant sounds, drops, and super aggressive tracks have nothing to do with the roots of dubstep, and pretty much engulfed all other forms of bass music from 2008 through 2012 as far as the public eye was concerned.

Seeing TRC make house records and Jakes making techno doesn't sit right with me. If they were truly supported by the mainstream and awarded the money and exposure they deserved, it would be one thing. I would applaud them for trying something else out. But they aren't, and it seemed like they tried their hardest to make records from the heart that never quite took off. American acts like Starkey, FaltyDL, and DJG are absolute genius producers, but don't get the bookings that Datsik and Chase & Status do.

I decided to pinpoint a couple ways that we failed the genre, the pioneers, and the true enthusiasts. It's all a generalization, but my hope is that a brief evaluation of some of the factors that led to big floor stomping records as the standard dubstep in America will lead to discussion on how to do things different in order to support all genres of electronic music in the years to come.

The Drop

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Work Visas / Sponsorship

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Booking Agencies

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Platforms

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Venues / DJs

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Skrillex

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EDM

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Beatport

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The Dubstep Forum

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YouTube Dance Videos

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When there are millions of plays on a video of someone dancing to a track, it's a blessing and a curse. Of course we love to see innovative dancing to innovative records. The average consumer (AKA your mom or uneducated friend) will take it for face value, and do no additional research as to what the music is actually about. And the average track used for these viral videos were big brostep records. Because if you're looking to get numbers on your YouTube channel, why would you dance to Burial?

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