The underground is not a product. But, the steady creep of Ibizafication has dismantled our culture’s resistance, transforming the raw narrative of the dance floor into a static, easily packaged commodity. When we look at the current state of our scene, we aren’t seeing a movement; we are seeing a marketplace.
Defining Ibizafication
Ibizafication is the transformation of authentic underground techno and house culture into a commercialized commodity. Ibizafication strips away the grit of the scene to replace it with the superficial veneer of the mainstream. Cory Doctorow’s concept of “Enshittification” is our influence; it is the pattern where platforms and services start by being good to their users, then shift to abusing them to extract value for stakeholders, before becoming a degraded, hollow version of their former selves. In our world, the “platform” is the club and the scene, which is being hollowed out to maximize profit at the expense of the culture.
Yann Pissenem and the Loss of Dance Floor Integrity
At the center of Ibizafication and Enshittification is Yann Pissenem, CEO of The Night League. Often called by mainstream industry outlets a “visionary,” his true legacy is the systematic commodification of dance music culture. Pissenem has built an empire through venues such as Ushuaïa Ibiza, Hï Ibiza, the massive new [UNVRS] “hyperclub,” and the international expansion into Ushuaïa Dubai Harbour.
His strategy is to transform the scene into a “Disneyland-for-ravers” experience, where the raw underground is replaced by the hyper-produced aesthetics of Las Vegas. This strategy strips away the genre’s authentic, underground soul to make it palatable for mass-market consumption. His entire business model is predicated on the illusion of “high-end” luxury and massive, hyper-commercialized production values. By prioritizing exorbitant profit margins and hollow, ego-driven DJ spectacles above the sonic integrity of the music, he has turned once-sacred spaces into theaters of consumption. Under his influence, the dance floor is often reduced to a dangerously overcrowded sausage party that prioritizes maximum capacity over participant safety and comfort. Even the staff seem to suffer; they appear visibly uninspired, bored, and ornery, as if they are in on the ripoff. The spaces have been reimagined not as a place for communal transcendence, but as a branded income generator, lacking the spirit essential to the roots of true dance culture
The Digital Filter
The production of music itself is not immune. Under the influence of the “digital filter” a reliance on algorithmic trends and social media visibility we have seen the rise of Business Techno, Frat House and Pseudo Techno (or boring commercial mainstream EDM). This music is designed to perform on screens rather than resonate in a room. It is a shallow echo, stripped of the complexity that makes techno and house an art form.
This cultural decline is promoted by a post-rational fallacy, where popularity is falsely equated with quality to justify commercialized, algorithmic trends. Worse, the platforms promoting this music are often paid-to-play networks, transforming music journalism into a sponsored real estate market that gaslights the audience and starves the underground of survival.
Dancer/Participant vs. Spectator
The distinction between the dancer/participant and a spectator is the dividing line between an authentic experience and a commodified one.
- The Dancer/Participant: The real dancer is a participant, caught up in the rhythm of the room. Dancing isn’t about showing off for someone else or posing for a phone; it is just a physical reaction to the music. Locked into the 4/4 kick and the subtle shifts in the mix, you zone out, lose your ego in the crowd, and just exist in the moment.
- The Spectator: The spectator is a product of Ibizafication, acting as a passive observer rather than an active contributor to the room’s energy. They treat the dance floor as a stage to be watched, often prioritizing the “Instagrammable” visual spectacle, such as massive light arrays, badly conceived figurative robot and angel videos or VIP areas, over the immersion of the sound. The spectator actively mediates their experience through a screen, prioritizing the capture of photos and videos over genuine, present-moment connection. The spectator frequently talks during the set, treating the music as background noise rather than a focused, communal experience.
When we prioritize the gaze of the spectator, we compromise the environment for everyone, turning the space from a sanctuary of rhythm into a theater of consumption.
The Erosion of the Underground
In an authentic club, festival or rave, the focus is on the music and the communal energy, not the spectacle. This is the antithesis of the Ibizafication model, which views the dancer not as a participant, but as a consumer. By stripping away the sonic integrity of a set, the industry ensures the experience remains a commodity, sanitized for mass consumption. We must recognize that when a scene is turned into a commodity, the first thing lost is the freedom of the dance floor.
Reclaiming Our Spaces
We must stop treating our spaces as venues for consumption and start protecting them as sanctuaries of sound. If we remain passive, we are merely customers in an industry that views our passion as nothing more than a commodity, as an asset to be exploited.
The industry will always push for the easiest route to profit, but we determine the value of the experience. It is time to reclaim the dance floor. It is time to prioritize the integrity of the sound over the convenience of the spectacle.