Insomniac (promoter)
Insomniac is an American electronic music event promoter. Founded by Pasquale Rotella, it is best known as the organizer of the electronic music festival Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC).
Type | Private |
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Industry | Event promoter, electronic music |
Founded | 1993 |
Headquarters | , |
Key people | Pasquale Rotella (founder) |
Divisions | Insomniac Records, Insomniac Radio,[1] Bassrush, Basscon,[2] Dreamstate, Hard (music festival), Audiotistic Music Festival, Factory 93[3] |
Website | Insomniac.com |
Alongside EDC, Insomniac runs the electronic music events Beyond Wonderland and Nocturnal Wonderland, as well as drum and bass and dubstep-oriented events under the brand Bassrush, hardstyle events under the brand Basscon, and trance events under the brand Dreamstate. Insomniac is also involved in the operation of three Los Angeles nightclubs—Create (in partnership with SBE, built on the site of the former Vanguard Hollywood), Exchange L.A.[4][5] and the underground warehouse Factory 93, located at 1756 Naud Street.[6][7]
In 2013, Insomniac entered into a creative partnership with Live Nation, and in 2014, introduced a co-branded record label in partnership with Interscope Geffen A&M,
Overview and partnerships
By contrast to other promoters, Insomniac places a larger emphasis on fan experiences during its events, as opposed to focusing on profits and ticket sales, and that "our strength lies in the movement as a whole. It’s a culture. It’s powerful. It’s always been about the people that attend. It changes people’s lives.”[8][9] Rotella has contended that music festivals do not require "big acts who sell out arenas", going as far as to praising Burning Man for being an "event by the people for the people" where "the organizers just provide an open space" and "people go all out."[10]
In June 2013, Insomniac announced a number of partnerships; including one with Dick Clark Productions to produce a dance music awards show, and a major "creative partnership" with Live Nation that would allow Insomniac to take advantage of Live Nation's resources, while still retaining autonomy and creative control over its events. While specifics of the deal were not revealed, Rotella emphasized that the deal was not an acquisition, as had been speculated.[6][9][11] Since 1993,[12] Insomniac has produced over 2,000 festivals attended by over 5 Million people.[13]
In August 2015, Pasquale announced his new radio show, Night Owl Radio, on SiriusXM's Electric Area[14] (Electric Area was later replaced by Diplo's Revolution in 2018).[15] In the summer of 2018, Insomniac Radio launched on SiriusXM's channel 730.[16] In May 2019, Insomniac partnered with Dash Radio as its flagship station.[17]
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic (which resulted in the postponement of all of its in-person festivals), Insomniac began to stream a rotation of sets from previous editions of the EDC, HARD Summer, and Okeechobee festivals on its YouTube and Twitch channels under the "Insomniac Rewind" banner, as well as "virtual" festivals tied into its festival brands.[18][19][20][21] In late-2020, Insomniac began a residency of drive-in "Park 'N Rave" concerts at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino,[22] and announced a "drive-through audiovisual experience" event known as the "Electric Mile" at Santa Anita Park — which will feature installations separated into "worlds" inspired by its main festival brands.[23]
Insomniac Records
Insomniac Records | |
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Founded | 2014 |
Founder | Pasquale Rotella |
Status | Active |
Distributor(s) | Interscope Geffen A&M |
Genre | Electronic dance music |
Country of origin | United States |
Official website | insomniacrecords |
In May 2014, Insomniac announced the formation of Insomniac Records, an EDM record label created in partnership with Interscope Geffen A&M. The label aimed to attract both "undiscovered" and "established" producers. Arty was announced as the first artist to be signed to the label. Other artists such as Bingo Players, Chris Lake and Dr. Fresch were also signed.[24]
Events
- Audiotistic Music Festival (Southern California, Bay Area)
- Bassrush Massive [25]
- Bay Nites [26]
- Beyond Wonderland
- Boo! [27]
- Countdown [28]
- Crush (Southern California, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas) [29]
- Dreamstate [30]
- Electric Daisy Carnival (UK, India, Orlando, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Brazil discontinued)
- Electric Forest
- Escape: Psycho Circus (formerly Escape From Wonderland)
- Hard (music festival)
- Holy Ship![31]
- Middlelands [32]
- Nocturnal Wonderland
- Okeechobee (Music Festival)
- Project Z [33]
- Together as One (discontinued)
- We Are NRG [34]
- White Wonderland (discontinued)
Related media
- Electric Daisy Carnival (2000 album)[35]
- Electric Daisy Carnival, Vol. 1 (2010 album)[36]
- Electric Daisy Carnival Experience (2011 film)[37]
- "Under the Electric Sky" (2013 film)[38]
See also
References
- Insomniac Radio
- Basscon
- Factory 93
- "Insomniac and SBE announce new Hollywood EDM club Create". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- "Insomniac works to keep Exchange L.A. up all weekend". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- "Electric Daisy Chain: Insomniac and Dick Clark Prod. Plan 2014 EDM Awards". Spin. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- "Insomniac Launches New Underground Brand, Factory 93 With Debut Warehouse Show in Downtown Los Angeles". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
- "Afrojack, Illenium And Insomniac's Pasquale Rotella Talk EDC And EDM In 2018". Forbes. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
- "Live Nation Teams With Insomniac Events in 'Creative Partnership'". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
- "From Molly to Moon Tribes: Inside Electric Daisy Carnival's New #Vanlife Era". RollingStone.com. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- "Live Nation to Purchase 50% Stake in Insomniac Events (Report)". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- Insomniac: How It All Began
- "LiveXLive's Summer of Streaming Continues with HARD Summer Music Festival 2018 This Weekend". NASDAQ. Retrieved August 31, 2018.
- "Insomniac's Pasquale Rotella Launches Night Owl Radio on Sirius XM". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- "Sirius XM listeners not happy with replacement of Electric Area". Dancing Astronaut. 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- "Insomniac Radio Debuts On SiriusXM". All Access. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- "Dash Radio Announces New Partnership With Insomniac Radio". All Access. Retrieved 2019-11-07.
- "Insomniac uploads full set of vintage Beyond Wonderland sets from 'Virtual Rave-a-thon'". Dancing Astronaut. 2020-03-22. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- "Dance Music Live Streams Getting Fists Pumping This Weekend". Billboard. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- "Insomniac reveals upcoming Countdown Rave-A-Thon lineup for another virtual festival weekend". Dancing Astronaut. 2020-03-26. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- "HARD Summer goes digital with Rave-A-Thon livestream". Dancing Astronaut. 2020-04-02. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- "NOS Events Center to host Deadmau5 for New Year's drive-in concerts". San Bernardino Sun. 2020-11-24. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- "Insomniac details new socially distanced audiovisual experience, 'Electric Mile'". Dancing Astronaut. 2020-12-05. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
- "Pasquale Rotella's Insomniac & Interscope Geffen A&M Launch New Imprint (Exclusive)". Billboard.biz. Retrieved 27 May 2014.
- Bassrush
- Bay Nites
- Boo!
- Countdown
- Crush
- Dreamstate
- Holy Ship!
- Middlelands
- Project Z
- We Are NRG
- "Electric Daisy Carnival". Amazaon. Amazon. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- "Electric Daisy Carnival, Vol. 1 (Mixed by Kaskade)". iTunes. Apple. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- "Electric Daisy Carnival Experience". IMDB. IMDB. Retrieved 20 February 2016.
- "Under the Electric Sky (2014)". IMDB. IMDB. Retrieved 20 February 2016.