Los Angeles won’t be the last city to declare war on electronic music, and it won’t be the last city that reacts to it with negativity and law enforcement.

The “Electronic Music Task Force” is a revamped police force created by the Los Angeles County back in 2010. Their goal is to prevent music festivals, that are booked, from happening altogether. Hilda Solis and Michael Antonovich from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors stated, “Ultimately, in the interest of public safety, a ban on electronic music festivals at county-owned properties remains a possibility that will continue to be evaluated.” And while it is understandable to want to prevent people from getting hurt, the music itself is not the problem.

Los Angeles County really doesn’t like electronic music, and the rest of the United States will definitely begin to catch on to its general disgust for the music. The world watched the same prejudice happen to Hip-Hop during its rise in popularity, and Rock Music was also seen as rebellious and even satanic when it first arose. Essentially, this isn’t the first time that a ground-breaking new genre of music has been criticized heavily just for being the next big thing.

Even the most dedicated and involved artists that produce House, Dance, and Bass music distance themselves from rave drugs in order to come off more professional. HARD Events founder Gary Richards even stated in regards to one of HARD’s festivals, “it’s not a rave, it’s a music festival,” He later referred back to his comment with humor and emphasis on the credibility of electronic music in his trailer for HARD Summer 2015, where he randomly points out again, “NOT a rave.”

Despite the effort, it was ironically HARD Summer that sparked the task force to go back into effect, after two people died of alleged overdoses.

The quick dismissal of the word “rave” to be replaced with “electronic music” proves that LA isn’t going to accept the music no matter how much re-branding and professionalism the industry attempts to show. Many other major areas in California do not host electronic music festivals, the Bay Area being a good example. Many California counties just don’t want to invite trouble, and that is perfectly valid. But these cases of “EDM partying nightmares” cycling through the LA County area is not common, at all.

While LA may be ahead of the curve on this fear-fueled exorcism of the sub-genres of electronic music, it will soon be a mainstream topic that everyone will love to hate. Before deciding that anyone within the realm of electronic music is either high or stupid, (or both,) try looking further into it.