KJ
9th November 2004, 08:17
By Adam Sherwin, Media Reporter - The Times
Britain's once-booming club culture is in crisis after the music industry axed the Dance category from the Brit Awards.
“Super-clubs” that attracted thousands of fans have closed their doors and superstar DJs have been replaced by guitartoting bands in the wake of a shift in popular tastes.
The British Phonographic Industry has cancelled the Best Dance Act category from next year’s awards, citing a dearth in sales and creativity within the once-thriving musical genre.
It has replaced the Dance award with a new Best Live Act category, reflecting a surge in concert attendance led by groups that include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand and Muse. A new British Rock act award was added last year.
Many clubbers have settled down with families and find the lifestyle incompatible with all-night raving.
A spokesman for the awards said: “The Brits committee decided that dance music is no longer where it’s happening in music. That scene is returning to its underground roots. The award was no longer right for a mass television audience.”
The last winner of the Dance award, axed after 12 years, was the London duo Basement Jaxx, who were also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
Sales of dance music collapsed last year, falling to just 1 per cent of total album sales, surpassed by classical music and a resurgent British jazz market.
One of the artists to suffer is Norman Cook, who sold millions of records as Fatboy Slim but whose new release, Palookaville, dropped out of the top 75 after three weeks. Cream, the Liverpool club which expanded into festivals, CDs and international parties, closed down its weekly operation after 12 years.
Ministry of Sound, the London venue, has seen revenues fall by more than a third since 2001. James Palumbo, the Eton-educated entrepreneur, has taken back control of the company after a £150 million stock market flotation was abandoned. Mark Rodol, the Ministry of Sound chief executive, resigned saying: “The super DJ and the super-club game is over.”
The clubbing monthly magazine Muzik closed last year and Mixmag, the market leader, has just begun to turn round a 30 per cent circulation decline. Pauline Haldane, Mixmag’s editorial director, said: “Dance music is definitely not dead. The Brits were probably embarrassed that Sugababes won the Dance award in 2003.”
Britain's once-booming club culture is in crisis after the music industry axed the Dance category from the Brit Awards.
“Super-clubs” that attracted thousands of fans have closed their doors and superstar DJs have been replaced by guitartoting bands in the wake of a shift in popular tastes.
The British Phonographic Industry has cancelled the Best Dance Act category from next year’s awards, citing a dearth in sales and creativity within the once-thriving musical genre.
It has replaced the Dance award with a new Best Live Act category, reflecting a surge in concert attendance led by groups that include Red Hot Chili Peppers, Franz Ferdinand and Muse. A new British Rock act award was added last year.
Many clubbers have settled down with families and find the lifestyle incompatible with all-night raving.
A spokesman for the awards said: “The Brits committee decided that dance music is no longer where it’s happening in music. That scene is returning to its underground roots. The award was no longer right for a mass television audience.”
The last winner of the Dance award, axed after 12 years, was the London duo Basement Jaxx, who were also nominated for the Mercury Music Prize.
Sales of dance music collapsed last year, falling to just 1 per cent of total album sales, surpassed by classical music and a resurgent British jazz market.
One of the artists to suffer is Norman Cook, who sold millions of records as Fatboy Slim but whose new release, Palookaville, dropped out of the top 75 after three weeks. Cream, the Liverpool club which expanded into festivals, CDs and international parties, closed down its weekly operation after 12 years.
Ministry of Sound, the London venue, has seen revenues fall by more than a third since 2001. James Palumbo, the Eton-educated entrepreneur, has taken back control of the company after a £150 million stock market flotation was abandoned. Mark Rodol, the Ministry of Sound chief executive, resigned saying: “The super DJ and the super-club game is over.”
The clubbing monthly magazine Muzik closed last year and Mixmag, the market leader, has just begun to turn round a 30 per cent circulation decline. Pauline Haldane, Mixmag’s editorial director, said: “Dance music is definitely not dead. The Brits were probably embarrassed that Sugababes won the Dance award in 2003.”