It’s no surprise that Insomniac founder and Electric Daisy Carnival overlord Pasquale Rotella knows how to pack a room—and that’s exactly what he did during his July 16 EDMbiz keynote, his first ever, as attendees filled a Caesars Palace ballroom to hear the man behind America’s largest dance-music festival speak his mind on the eve of EDC’s 20th anniversary.
Moderated by Tao Group partner Jason Strauss, the conversation kicked off with Rotella remembering his early days promoting raves in LA, saying his first event drew 300 people to a South Central venue after the city’s 1992 riots—a far cry from the thousands that will flock to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway this weekend.
“The concert industry didn’t really respect what we were doing,” said Rotella, discussing the difficulty of securing venues for dance-music events. He went on to talk about EDC’s 1999 move to abandoned waterpark Lake Dolores outside Barstow, which received staunch opposition from nearby community members who ended up blocking the roads leading to the event. “Ravers were more aggressive back then,” he said, adding that attendees ended up making “their own roads” into the festival’s third installment.
Strauss then shifted gears to EDC’s Las Vegas years. “There’s nothing like the mayor holding a martini and saying ‘come on through,’” said Rotella, referring to Oscar Goodman.
Rotell said It was "scary coming to Vegas,” because he was unsure if electronic dance music fans would make the trek. “Now it seems so obvious.”
After a quick detour talking about Rotella’s wife Holly Madison—apparently a factor behind his warming up to social media—it was back to business, discussing Insomniac’s reported $50 million partnership with Live Nation.
“I never wanted to sell,” said Rotella, adding that he turned down larger figures from other companies to team up with Live Nation, saying he wanted to hold onto some independence. “They believed in my vision.”
In the end, the congenial conversation was an informative and entertaining glimpse into the evolution of EDC.
