It was all good just a week ago.
Whether you believe what deadmau5 said, that he was unplugging himself from everything that makes him upset, or that his "up the RA" tweet got his account suspended, the result is the same: we're mau5-less on Twitter, and it sucks. If you spend enough time on EDM Twitter (which, if you fuck with dance music, you probably do), you can see how quickly the tweets from the community occupy a few spaces: promotion (which is a given, as people need to know when music is coming out, when shows are going down, and the like), complaining (lots of complaining), or some random inside jokery between the guys who spin the music that keep us going. You might get some random tales about being tased at JFK airport, BT tweeting stories, or a Kaskade rant. With deadmau5 handing over his Twitter account to management, we end up losing a lot of the immediate connection that someone like deadmau5 has with the Twitter audience (or his social media world in general). The lambasting about an asinine product like Beamz, back-and-forths with Afrojack, or telling MTV that he wanted to "opt out" of his EMA nomination. Basically, his is an unfiltered voice that has no problem with speaking his mind when he feels things are incorrect.
You know, the yin to most of EDM Twitter's yang.
You have to understand what kind of problems this could pose to how artists react on Twitter. We've already seen situations where DJs and producers will speak their mind, and when confronted about their real emotions, will end up removing tweets or backtracking with statements for whatever reason. Not deadmau5; if he felt strong enough to tweet about something he felt was bullshit or wanted to give his opinion on something, you knew he not only meant it, but would back up his statements with whomever wanted to test him.
How many of YOUR favorite DJs will speak their minds, then have the ability to explain WHY they felt that way to fans, haters, corporate entities, and their peers?
All we're saying is, for the EDM scene to continue, we need healthy doses of reality. That's why we make sure to keep our minds open and share our ideas, no matter how unconventional or against the rest of the scene they can be. The amount of corporate dollars flowing into the EDM world is going to grow, not shrink, and with that we'll end up getting more injections of fakery (from the cookie-cutter artists and songs to properly manufactured campaigns), not less. EDM needs balance, whether its making sure that there is a bass music tent at a huge festival or that all of our DJs aren't emphasizing the positive while ignoring the negative. We're all human, and no matter what PLUR doctrine you subscribe to, people have to express themselves. Or we at least need someone who is not afraid to express themselves, for good or ill, on this medium.
Now, that's not to say that we're all "fuck your feelings, return because it'll make us happy," but we need balance, whether its in the music we're taking in or the words being written about it or the way artists choose to speak on it, or anything. If EDM Twitter was a scale, a very important, block has been removed from one side, and if more artists feel the need to tune out, we're going to end up with an EDM Twittersphere that'll resemble the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs list: the same vanilla ice cream in a world where 31 flavors (and more) are possible.
Luckily for us, maybe he's on his way back?
Meow.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) November 15, 2013
No no... it's me, not him. pic.twitter.com/VYBVFUgPSZ
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) November 15, 2013
