Dance Music Spaces: Clubs, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism

Dance Music Spaces: Clubs, Clubbers, and DJs Navigating Authenticity, Branding, and Commercialism is about the production of social, cultural, physical, and digital spaces in dance music, spaces that share features of both rave authenticity and the commercialism of club culture. Using a concept she calls authenticity maneuvering to explain how clubs, clubbers, and DJs navigate authenticity, branding, and commercialism, Danielle Hidalgo argues that the strategic use of a rave ethos bolsters acceptance in dance music spaces while also making commercial practices less visible or problematic. She shows how the presence of both authenticity and commercialism enables and constrains three highly successful women DJs and their colleagues, requiring the ongoing performance of authenticity via branding. This book presents a compelling analysis of the complicated interplay between dancing bodies, digital practices, and spatial offerings in contemporary dance music.