i just think there is too much 'philosiphising' about techno by people on this forum. There will always be people who leed and others who follow. There will always be a select few who will constantly strive to lead and innovate new ways. and there will always be many more who follow and imitate what they have achieved. Its not just techno, or even music where people are churning out repeatative stuff. The graphic design world is another prime example. How many adverts, flyers etc have you seen that a)stick to a formula or b) are ripping someone else off. There are a few people at the top of the design world that are being innovative and creative, and there are many more who are copying.

Within any creative medium your gonna get people sticking to a formula, just because people are involved in a creative subject necerssarily means they are creative.