This year's Publisher's Pick: Pasquale Rotella of Insomniac.
Pasquale Rotella has a passion for perfection and a vision for the ultimate dance music festival that transcends geographic, genre and gender boundaries. His 2014 Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas drew an attendance of 400,000 from across the globe to a three-day extravaganza at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.
His company, Insomniac, which he founded in Los Angeles in 1993, produces between 15 and 18 festivals and 300-500 concerts and club events throughout the year. “We’ve sold over 1 million tickets in 2014. It’s growing so fast,” Rotella, our 2014 Publisher’s Pick, told Venues Today.
Those who know and work with him compare him to famed promoter Bill Graham because of his insistence on providing the best fan experience possible at his electronic dance music (EDM) festivals and concerts.
Others think he channels Steve Jobs, founder of Apple, because of his attention to detail and drive for perfection.
“I’ll take either. That’s very flattering,” Rotella said when presented with the comparisons.
While he plans to continue making every event he produces bigger and better than the last one, he also has another vision, a theme park, a Disneyland for dance music.
“We’ll always want to do the pop-ups, but we have an idea to create one unique destination where we are able to do things we can’t do with a pop-up festival,” Rotella said. He’s been talking about this idea for years and has no timetable, place or funding to bring it to fruition, but no one doubts he will do it.
Asked about a working title, he quipped: “Somebody I was talking to recently called it Rotella Ranch. I don’t call it that. It’s just an idea right now.”
POP-UP THEME PARKS
As to the future of EDM, he only sees it growing. “Dance music is about what’s next and pushing things forward,” Rotella said. “It will continue to help the festival industry and experience improve. I think it will continue to entertain people in ways that are new and different, that people have never seen before.”
For instance, he built a stage that was 120 feet high and 400 feet long themed as a cathedral for EDC Vegas this year. He views the stage as a piece of art, “creating experiences that are full-on, 360-degree immersive experiences where there’s not a band or act going on that is the only attraction. There is a sense of discovery throughout the whole festival.”
The mainstage cathedral at Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2014. (Photo by aLIVE)
That’s what makes Rotella productions different. He doesn’t consider them concerts. They are themed experiences. “With the explosion of dance music, a lot of people put us in that concert category, that we’re promoters and doing concerts. But it’s totally different,” Rotella said. Each festival gets closer to that theme park of the future, where he is creating venues that are more like Disneyland or learning how to transform them in an easier way.
Setup is the difficult part of a Rotella festival. Loading in and out in a cost efficient way yet fulfilling the dream is challenging, he admitted.
“We basically build tent cities and putting them up and tearing them down costs a lot of money and some of the details get lost,” he said.
Three years ago, when he moved the Electric Daisy Carnival to Las Vegas after years at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, he found the perfect setting. The 1,200-acre speedway gives him room to grow and complete autonomy. EDC 2014 occupied 180 acres, all in the infield. It takes three to four weeks to set up that show, though the “smaller” EDC events go up in four or five days.
Planning has already begun for EDC Vegas 2015.
“My main goal is to make people feel like they’ve walked into another world,” Rotella said. “I believe when you entertain people on that level, they will more easily let go of their everyday problems. Life can be a struggle and there are challenges and people listen to music and go to shows to escape. It’s easier for some people than others. We like to change the environment enough so it happens for everyone if possible. More than they would if they walked into a parking lot with a stage that was just set up.”
“You need to snap people into the present moment. You do that with art and music and special effects and the environment you set up.”
Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2014 had several different stages. (Photo by aLIVE)
He finds inspiration everywhere, whether it’s a supermarket where he sees a cereal box with a castle on it, a theme park like Disneyland or other festivals like Burning Man. “The roots of my inspiration come from the early days in Los Angeles’ underground scene — the warehouse and the desert parties back in the early 90s,” he said, referring to producing raves in and around L.A. “Or I can run by a billboard and something can catch my eye and spark something.” He’s been in this business for 20 years.
Insomniac’s creative team is involved in realizing the vision today. Insomniac is now a company of 75. EDC Vegas is the showcase event.
“I ask a million different people’s opinions. It’s a creative process several people are involved in. That’s probably my favorite part of the festival — the art side of it and the environment we build for people,” Rotella said.
A LOVE OF FIELDS
Rotella’s dance music festivals and concerts play all sorts of venues, from fairgrounds and parks to arenas and stadiums.
If there is seating, he needs an open floor with enough capacity for the dance crowd. He can work with multiple rooms and spaces.
“We love grass fields. We love venues where we can have multiple areas, multiple stages. We’ve used convention centers, those work,” he said.
“Usually venues aren’t built for what we do. We get creative and find areas we can transform into additional stage areas,” he added. “You’d be shocked if you saw some of the areas we used that people would never think of because it’s never been done before. We’ll transform those areas into functioning settings for crowds.”
Hundreds of performers participated in creating the experience of Electric Daisy Carnival Las Vegas 2014. (Photo by Bennett Sell-Kline)
Carnival rides are a big part of the Electric Daisy Carnival theme, and Rotella said it’s not just about riding them. He views them as giant props. “Some of those rides are gorgeous with all the light bulbs swinging by you. If you are listening to some music and want to take a break, you can get on a Yo-Yo and swing above the crowd. It’s awesome.” His events are usually 12 hours long and multiple days, so carnival rides are great alternatives to listening to music.
And there are lines, getting in, getting out and getting around. That’s one reason Rotella said he is considering another big change for EDC Vegas 2015 – two weekends. It’s just in the exploratory stage right now. “I don’t know how I feel about it yet. Part of me feels it’s special and keep it to one weekend, but part of me says maybe lower the capacity for one weekend by going to two weekends so the traffic in and out is better and we don’t have to sacrifice production value by lowering the cost.” Over time as a two-weekend festival, he could eventually increase attendance to 800,000.
The culture of dance music has spread across the whole world and Rotella believes that is, in part, because “unlike any other genre, there are no lyrics. We’ve taken EDC to London, Mexico, and Puerto Rico and we’re looking at South America now. The first time we do shows in certain markets, we’ll do 50,000 people.”
Rotella is famous for tapping into the Internet to expand his fan base. It’s a universal sound, he added. “The demand is there and people want to experience our shows, so we do our best to bring it to them.”
He uses social media to show people what Insomniac does and to communicate with fans about what they like and don’t like. He makes adjustments accordingly. “We truly care and listen. Personally, I have a bunch of followers and they help me stay in touch and they help me improve the experience by letting me know — and they do let me know — when there is a problem.”
MOVING FORWARD
Last year, Rotella sold half of Insomniac to Live Nation, a global promotion company, for a reported $50 million.
Asked about that business deal, Rotella was emphatic. “It’s great. Michael Rapino (CEO of Live Nation) is definitely the individual I clicked with and got me to make the leap. I love being partners with them.”
Insomniac and Live Nation operate separately, he said, “but they have been amazing when it comes to expanding our brand to markets we don’t have off the ground, because Live Nation does. When we did EDC UK they were already established there. EDC UK happened sooner because of the Live Nation deal.”
Life and business couldn’t be better for Rotella than 2014. His highlight so far? “Just being here and still doing what I’m doing. I don’t see many people around that survived the challenges it took for dance music to get accepted in North America.”
He married model Holly Madison last year, at Disneyland, and they have a one-year-old, Rainbow.
When Rainbow is 15, what is her daddy going to be doing?
“Oh, her daddy will be doing the same thing. This is my life,” Rotella said.
Interviewed for this story: Pasquale Rotella, (323) 874-7020