Music Industry Personalities Weigh In on Deadmau5 Comment ‘Drugs Held EDM Down’

Joel Zimmerman otherwise known as Deadmau5 certainly makes plenty of headlines for his anti-drug stance, except alcohol and cigarettes of course. If Zimmerman were a professional athlete he’d be praised for his views on drugs and the negative impact he sees them having on both his fans and electronic music itself. However, Zimmerman is, for lack of a better term, a ‘rock star’ and thus is associated with a world that is seen as embracing and at times overly celebrating the use of so-called ‘illicit’ substances.

Recent stories concerning Deadmau5’s ‘war on drugs’ include fellow EDM artist Rusko, who has a very open attitude about his drug use, and Madonna, who Deadmau5 publicly crucified for allegedly making a reference to MDMA during a live performance.

In response to Madonna’s claims that she wasn’t referencing drugs, Deadmau5 tweeted:

“yeah, i really kinda leeeeeeeeroy jenkins’d that shit huh… MDNA / Molly / MDMA / whatever .. something about a track? still seems the same to me, coz its still, in my opinion, unecciscary promotion of the shit that really held EDM down for years.”

The final part of the statement caught the interest of The Music Network, who this morning posted an article that features a handful of reactions from music industry personalities who have witnessed the evolution of the EDM culture over the course of their careers.

The article includes: founder and owner of Cr2 Records Mark Brown; National Talent and Communications Manager for Big Day Out Ben Suthers; Content Director for Sound Alliance Tim Duggan; and Head of EMI Dance Network Bart Cools.

Even if you’re burnt out from all the Deadmau5 anti-drug related stories making the rounds at the moment, this is still an interesting read on the subject that takes shape as respectful conversation from the perspective of those who are close to the business and the culture.

Do yourself a favour and check out this quick and interesting read by The Music Network.

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