OK, as far as america goes, from being here and well in hopes to give everyone the skinny. The ones here who do throw events have had our run of problems. As everyone knows, Rave Act and such have hindered things by scaring people into submission. The midwest still has its problems when things do go in our favor.

A few to note.
1. As a techno artist myself I come across people that when they ask what I play and I reply "techno", then comes the de facto response "so is that house or trance" at which time I spend another 15 min or so explaining the diffrence.

2. Within the Midwest expecially, clubs are hard pressed to go outside the norm of what is played within the pop / alternative radio stations. Club owners in majority I have found to be older and dont understand nor grasp what electronic music is, let alone techno. The rare few that do are well off. but controlled by a few individuals that keep a grasp on thier market. which leads me to...

3. The promoters that I have come across have 'played it safe' and believe that techno will never be huge. Even when shown diffrently thier own preferance to book house dj's lead to a overkill of one genre within the spectrum. The ones that do throw techno have proven to be rather successful within the one off shows. Alas, the preferance of those few to keep house going, because it is all they know or understand hinders us even further.

4. Lack of music has left people unaware. With few techno dj's there is a limited amount of resources that can be obtained by the average person. While the regional techno artists do work together, it seems that no one can afford to keep up on thier record fix and shell out for a few hundred cd's to get to the populace. Music is a drug and while I have been guilty of both ends, I also understand that building knowledge of a music is paramount in creating a sustainable and viable market within the US. The old hayday of parties for parties sake are over, and so too are the times where people went out without knowing who an artist is. Mostly for the fact that back then music was rampant and people could obtain it and have something to base what thier expierence will be like.

5. With fuel prices going crazy here in the US. (I know we dont even compare to other parts of the world), we find flights, booking fees, and everything else hard to fathom when you have to budget on 300 people at an event. We have to then stick to more regional acts than bringing some of you I would love to get here. The other side of this coin is the lack of cooperation it seems from promoters in other cities to get flight share and such worked out. More to the point is the inability to find a contact and obtain the heads up so it may be arranged.

These things placed together hinder the growth of the market and hinders the Midwest as I see it from gaining exposure. Lack of radio here also hinders from attracting new consumers. Also, I must note that within the Midwest i do not consider chicago, since i believe that it has a bit more of a foundation than the other areas such as St Louis, Kansas City, Oklahoma, Ect.

Any comments / suggestions on this matter please let me know, because I would like nothing more than make this country more bangin'.