Hakkasan scoops up even more talent for 2014

Photo by Rukes

Billboard reports that Hakkasan has added Afrojack, Above & Beyond, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, and W&W to their 2014 DJ roster. These moves have come at the cost of other Las Vegas clubs like Marquee, and XS. Not returning to Hakkasan in 2014 will be Deadmau5, who according to rumours, was earning an estimated $425,000 per show. It looks like he's back at XS.

These moves might seem insignificant to Canadians, but the DJ rates negotiated in Las Vegas do impact how much these DJs cost to play at other shows across the world.

Tiesto teases season 2 of his "In The Booth" video series

If you haven't seen season 1 of Tiesto's "In The Booth" series on Youtube, I suggest you check it out because it's actually quite entertaining to watch short videos of Tiesto flying all over the world. It gave you a sense of what it might be like to walk in the shoes of one of most successful DJs at the current height of the EDM boom.  

Season 2 of the "In The Booth" series will be soon upon us as episode 1 will feature Tiesto's newest residency gig at the Hakkasan mega club in Las Vegas, check out the teaser:  

As soon as the first episode is available in October, it will be posted on EDM Canada.  


Is MGM planning an EDM festival in Las Vegas with a capacity of 130,000 fans this summer?

According to Robin Leach, MGM CEO Scott Sibellus has just announced plans for a major EDM festival to take place at the Motor Speedway this summer:

Up to this point EDC Las Vegas was the only festival to use the Las Vegas Motor Speedway grounds for a major event. But it now seems that major casinos are interested in getting into the festival business. With MGM now home to the new Hakkasan super club and popular Wet Republic establishments, adding a major festival to their roster of events is a bold move in the ultra-competitive Las Vegas landscape.

Pacha Ibiza's new direction

The Urgell's, the family behind the Pacha empire spanning from Ibiza to South America, have announced a new direction for their iconic Ibiza club via the New York Times​. According to José Urgell, the ballooning DJ fees were the main issue:

​“The D.J.’s wanted more money to play less,” said José Urgell, known as Piti, who is Mr. Urgell’s 65-year-old brother. “It was an abuse. We had to come up with a new plan because the old one was going to explode.” ...The budgets behind the dance business are ballooning, with superstar D.J.’s now commanding hundreds of thousands of dollars a night in the megaclubs of Ibiza and Las Vegas, where they once spun anonymously in the dark.”

​While names such as Tiesto, Eric Morillo, Luciano, and Pete Tong will no longer be with Pacha this season, David Guetta still retains his night while Guy Gerber was signed for a weekly residency that will "feature indie bands, magicians, fortunetelling machines, maybe a puppeteer." Piti Urgell will also be spinning classic rock 'n' roll in a weekly event they call 'Flower Power'.

With the launch of two new mega clubs in Las Vegas, Hakkasan and Light, it will be interesting to watch how ​Pacha's new direction will fare versus the big name DJ events in Las Vegas this summer.

(Source: New York Times)​