Genre Classification in Electronic Dance Music Culture

This chapter addresses issues in genre classification of electronic dance music. The discussion is particularly focused on how the genre negotiation of the techno genre is shaped by socio-cultural contexts and processes as it developed from specific localities and spaces to current online community-building and tagging practices. After locating the research context in genre theory, the chapter first evaluates historical narratives of the development of techno and argues that genre histories and categories are forged by the dynamic between genre cultures and the music industry. The engagement with genre definitions in the online world is addressed through a case study of an automatic genre classification and clustering algorithm that predicts stylistic repertoires of techno labels on the music distribution platform Bandcamp. The discussion leads to an understanding of how user-generated folksonomies enable DJs and producers to destabilise industry-prescribed taxonomies while remaining distinct from dominant forms of techno.