EDM Artist News
John Summit and Max Styler Spark Dancefloor Etiquette Debate
John Summit and Max Styler spark dancefloor etiquette debate after calling out constant talking, phone use and a lack of presence during sets
For years, the dancefloor has been a place where the music comes first, with everything else happening around that shared experience. More recently, the debate around dancefloor etiquette has grown as constant filming, influencer culture, phone use and long conversations become more noticeable during sets. John Summit and Max Styler have now added their voices to that debate, calling out people who spend more time talking than dancing. Their comments have brought renewed attention to a question that has followed club and rave culture for years: how much should people around you affect the way everyone else experiences the music?
What John Summit and Max Styler Have Said
The issue first came to light on September 27, when John Summit posted on X: “idc what genre u listen to the only thing that is killing the dance floor is the constant yapping.” It follows comments he has made before about phones and filming during sets, where he has spoken about people becoming distracted or self-conscious instead of letting go and enjoying the music.
Not long after, Max Styler shared his own thoughts on social media, writing, “do the drugs, do the alcohol, do the dancing, let your freak flag fly but don’t open your trap.” Like John Summit, he was calling out people who spend parts of a set talking or yapping on the dancefloor instead of dancing and paying attention to the music.
The Wider Implications for Dancefloor Etiquette
Since John Summit and Max Styler have spoken out, their comments raise wider implications for how people think about dancefloor etiquette. Clubs and raves have always been social spaces, but there is still a difference between chatting with friends and spending large parts of a set yapping over the music. The issue becomes more noticeable when that behaviour starts affecting people nearby who are there to dance, listen and actually follow the set.
That line between socialising and disrupting the floor is already reflected in how some clubs operate. Nowadays in New York asks guests to keep conversations on the dancefloor brief and continue longer chats elsewhere, while also limiting phone use around the floor. Basement NYC has taken a similar approach with rules around talking, phones and photography, showing that the idea of keeping certain distractions away from the dancefloor is far from new.
As the scene continues to grow and expand, the etiquette debate has also widened beyond talking. Phones are now constantly raised for drops, people film themselves and their friends throughout sets, and social media has made being seen at an event part of the experience for some attendees. Influencer culture has pushed that further, especially at larger festivals where filming and posting can sometimes take as much attention as the music itself. Constant yapping becomes another part of the same concern when the set starts fading into the background.
