Whatever we plan on doing this evening for New Year’s Eve, it seems that we will all grace the New Year with a continuing goal of making dance music more prominent than it ever has been before. With all great things starting in one place and beginning to grow both virally online and through the many growing businesses here at home, it seems that all of us in some way, shape or form contribute to this booming industry. I’m sure many of you have already seen the study Massive Advisors put out regarding the billions of dollars (roughly 20) electronic dance music has brought to the United States and many destinations abroad. But neither our part-time college job nor the deep pockets of our parents is what’s going to truly keep this industry alive. Sure, I can see this as being a generational industry, where college socialites and young urban professionals pass on their memories from Electric Daisy Carnival and Ultra Music Festival to their younger siblings and generations. But, in the end, like all great things, there has to be a bottom line.

As I begin to write this piece making my way back to New York City for a frigid New Year celebration, I begin to look back at the year that was 2013 and see what we can collectively do to make 2014 an even better year for dance music. The New Year will be here in just a few short hours, with many of us getting ready, listening to some famous DJ’s ‘Year Mix,’ and preparing for a cordial way to ring in a new beginning. But for many of us, this is one of the busiest times for dance music partygoers. DJ’s, managers, and PR representatives travel thousands of miles to some fantasized city most of us dream of going to and grace the community with hard-hitting electro beats, progressive and big room sounds, and an even greater debut of some of the hottest tracks to hit Beatport and beyond.

So what’s my point you ask? Well, it’s fairly simple.

All of us contribute immensely to this amazing industry; we all gather, love and share the power of our generation and defining entity with the world in so many magical ways. Yet, it seems to me that people truly take advantage of that. I understand some of these festivities are quite expensive, ticket prices for music festivals are only skyrocketing, and the massive expense incurred for a weekend down on South Beach breaks the bank. But, to the rest of the world, we are seen as a childish, immature, and at times laughable collection according to some of the industries that truly fuel our lives, our parents’ lives and the futures we all have.

For most of us, dance music will never be a true profession. To many, it’s looked at as something that will eventually die down inside of us, as the 9-to-5 jobs, the overtime spent at the office, and the company business trips eat at our time and our leisure.

So what is it that keeps all of us going? Isn’t this truly just a ticking time bomb in all of our lives? A mere phase that we all go through because our friends and their friends gather under the beaming LED lights, the spray foam and the hard hitting bass nearly a few feet away from our ears?

The answer is in all of us. It is the belief we all have to take something that is viewed by the outside world as non-sustainable and turn it into a true passion and art that can carry its own weight. So, for those of you who spend all hours of the day racking up Tweets of famous DJs, ‘hearting’ this on SoundCloud, sharing that on Facebook, I challenge you to all look at yourselves and see where your contribution could be made in this industry going forward in 2014. Continue to keep that clock running despite what life tells you because you truly never know how big this all can get.

Have a fantastic 2014. May all of you embrace and power, love and grace of dance music for years to come.