Staying Relevant: Frequency of releases in Hardstyle & the pressure on producers.

When hard dance music was conceived, it was a small, yet extremely powerful movement that proceeded to grow exponentially and form its own genres. The pioneers responsible for early hard dance music had the task on their hands to not only produce music, but spread it by performing. With a small number of creators that was soon to increase, the number of fans also began increasing which subsequently correlated to the amount of events being held.

In the central hub of hard dance music, The Netherlands, indoor events and festivals became more frequent and also larger in capacity as the level of interest rose. Taking things right up to the present day, many of you would’ve noticed that there’s several events held per weekend. The struggle is real for the Dutchies who are frequently stuck in the same dilemma when three great events are held on one day and they can’t decide which one to visit.

Nevertheless, it’s awesome that we have access to satisfying our hard dance cravings on a weekly basis; however, it does guarantee that the scene, particularly hardstyle, moves extremely quickly which of course, has its pros and cons.

So, what exactly do I mean when I say that hardstyle moves extremely quickly?

Hardstyle in itself is a thriving genre that boasts countless great producers, a diverse range of sounds and some of the most exquisite events in the entire electronic dance music spectrum. Because of its booming popularity worldwide, high frequency of large-scale events and also the competitiveness for exposure, the pressure for artists to release music is high and keeping yourself “on the map” is harder than you’d imagine.

In the earlier days and when the genre was more ‘underground,’ artists were under less pressure to release music. For example, a producer at the top of the ladder could take six months off releasing any music without his name being shoved off the map and when he or she would finally release something, the fans would go crazy over it. This happened quite frequently when an artist wanted to produce an album; it’s all that they would focus on for a matter of months and once they released the album it would be as if they never took time off.

Today, it’s a completely different story – if an artist hasn’t released any music for a matter of months they aren’t as popular amongst fans and promoters.

We’ve seen it happen many times in recent years. Whether they’re having problems with their label, personal issues, schooling or family commitments or anything else that can inhibit them from spending copious amounts of time in the studio, producers may have to take some time off from releasing music. Sadly enough, our scene is always on the ‘hunt’ for new music and new forms of entertainment and if one artist is not delivering that then they will look elsewhere and find a new name to worship.

I’m going to now look at a prime example of a name that fell underneath the radar as a result for slowing down on their releases: Josh & Wesz.

The guys were on a roll for a matter of years, releasing some huge hits like “Acquittal,” “Like Thiz,” “Underground Language” and more. They never released copious amounts of music, but they were still highly regarded amongst fans and organisations. After releasing “Dream Planet” in April, 2013, the guys quietened down and it didn’t take long for their bookings to slowly fade away and their fans to gain interest in other artists.
New talents began popping up left, right and centre and it wasn’t until around 2014-2015 when Josh & Wesz were booked again, but only as a part of early hardstyle concepts. In 2015, the pair released three early flavoured tracks. “Resurgence” was released in January, “Retrospect” in February and “World At Peace” in June. There was a huge buzz around their come-back, however, by September when Josh & Wesz hadn’t followed up to these releases, fans lost interest again.

Just rolling a little off-topic here, but you all remember growing up and following hypes of certain pop-stars and one-hit wonders, right? If so, then you’d remember that many singers would release no more than about two tracks per year and still be deemed as a star. Sometimes it would take years for them to finish an album and if you compare singing with the complex production of hardstyle, pop-stars seem talentless and lazy when you compare them to the producers in our scene who spend up to 12 hours in the studio per day.

However, if I may make a comparison, ask yourself – how many times has Rihanna performed in The Netherlands and how many times has say, Noisecontrollers performed in The Netherlands? I know, I’m comparing Rihanna and Noisecontrollers, but get this: Rihanna fans may only see her once every year or two and Noisecontrollers fans are lucky enough to see him perform a couple of times by month. Rihanna can get away with singing the same songs on the same tour that goes on for one year, but Noisecontrollers can’t get away with playing the same set and the same material for a whole year – the demand is much higher for him to be productive and creative. When you make a simple comparison between pop music and hardstyle, you will see for yourself that hardstyle is released very frequently.

In our interview with Wildstylez earlier this year and right before he dropped his album “Lose Control,” he revealed that he had been experimenting in the studio for the past few years, which resulted in him not releasing much music. He then went on to state that the album was something to remind his fans that he was still here. The fact that he admittedly was aware that he had to ‘remind’ fans of his existence just goes to show that keeping up with hardstyle is difficult and it does put a lot of pressure on artists to continuously release music. Although we’re so lucky to have access to music that’s continuously updated, one con that comes with this is that it can put a lot of strain on the artist personally.

Artists are NOT machines, they are people.

They are creative people who cannot force out good ideas, no matter how hard they try. It’s important for fans to be respectful of this creative process and not criticise an artist for not releasing a new track each month; it’s also vital that we respect artists and not continuously demand new music. There have been a few instances on social media where I have seen fans asking artists for new music, despite the fact they had just released or previewed a new track. All producers can vouch how difficult it is to produce a top-quality track that blows previous tracks out of the water and that’s something fans simply don’t understand. Another point I’d like to make is that a lot of hardstyle producers are perfectionists and will keep adding small details to their track for weeks, maybe even months, until they feel that it’s perfect.

It’s not just the artists who are bombarded with stress to keep up; it’s the labels too. When it comes to releases, all labels have their own schedule that includes marketing the track over time, both before and after its release date. It doesn’t make sense for labels to release a track per week; it’s too confusing and interferes with the schedules. This is also sometimes why artists face delays. An artist may have a track lying around for months before it’s released, simply because of the labels schedule. This is nobody’s ‘fault.’

Personally, it’s great that there are such huge amounts of music being released and in 2015 we’ve been so lucky to have access to brand new albums, EP’s and singles. This plethora of new music offers a lot of new opportunities for fans and draws a lot of new listeners in; however, it’s important to remember to respect the artists and their creative process.

Remember to support your artists rather than bombard them with demands for new music; your support goes a long way and inspires them in many ways. Don’t jump to the conclusion that an artist is ‘irrelevant’ because they didn’t release 10 tracks in a year; their production skills don’t go away overnight and unless you know their situation then you are nobody to judge.