Because the digital music trade returns to pre-pandemic crowds, an everlasting query has by no means been extra pressing: how will we get together with out placing individuals in peril?
Final week, the Affiliation For Digital Music (AFEM) convened a digital roundtable titled “From Dance Floors to Festivals: Rethinking Crowd Safety,” providing an in-depth look into the challenges and options being mentioned by the trade at massive.
Moderated by powerhouse publicist Nikki McNeill, who can also be an AFEM Government Board Member, the panel featured Claire Wright, founding father of BUDDY, which claims to be “the world’s first social utility app; Carl Loben, Editor-in-Chief of DJ Mag; Jason Euler of the Arizona-based electronic music event organizer Relentless Beats; and crowd safety pioneer Paul Wertheimer, founder of Crowd Management Strategies.
The discussion touched on the escalating complexity of event safety, the emotional toll of fear-based messaging and the persistent threats facing women on the dancefloor. Though differing in backgrounds, the panelists shared a common belief: safety cannot be a secondary consideration in music—it must be embedded in the DNA of every event, from underground warehouse raves to stadium-scale festivals.
As Wertheimer, a veteran in the field since the 1979 Cincinnati Who concert tragedy, has long argued, safety must be integrated into every aspect of event planning, from venue design and crowd flow to real-time response and public education. Euler, whose organization produces large-scale events across the United States, emphasized those logistical rigors required behind the scenes.
Emergency action planning is crucial, he explained, noting that Relentless Beats takes steps to ensure its chain of command is abreast on active shooter trainings, CPR preparation and Narcan certification. “Having extra individuals which can be multifaceted to have the ability to assist in various kinds of emergencies—and having that preparation—is admittedly every part,” Euler mentioned.
The raves proceed, however so does the chance. His feedback replicate a brand new actuality for promoters working in a post-pandemic world, the place workers are anticipated to be not solely hosts, but in addition first responders. The importance of such preparation is underscored by current tragedies at live shows world wide, together with crowd crushes and drug-related deaths, incidents which have led to rising scrutiny from native governments and the general public.
Elsewhere within the roundtable, Wright known as for a recalibration of how security data is delivered to attendees. There’s an abundance of fabric on the market, she mentioned, nevertheless it’s positioned in a method that stresses them out and instills a way of trepidation.
“There’s so much fear-based information, like on social media and press… It’s stopping people from going out,” she defined. “That’s not what we want. We’re not here to scare people, we’re here to inform them.”
McNeill pointed to a disturbing fact: for a lot of ladies in digital music areas, security just isn’t a theoretical difficulty, however a lived expertise as a consequence of rampant sexual assault. “It’s more the girls who tend to feel unsafe,” she mentioned, “but obviously that’s a wider issue.”
Whereas she acknowledged the tradition of mutual care that always defines the digital music group, she cautioned that particular person vigilance has its limits.
“I think we do tend to look out for our friends when we’re out and about clubbing or at festivals, but that can only go so far,” McNeill mentioned. “So it’s harder to tackle a wider society problem, but I always think the electronic music sector is a leader in taking on new technologies and an early adopter of things.”
You’ll be able to watch AFEM’s full roundtable right here.
