Claim: The Chainsmokers are musicians.

Electronic dance music -LRB- also known as EDM , dance music , club music , or simply dance -RRB- is a broad range of percussive electronic music genres made largely for nightclubs , raves , and festivals . EDM is generally produced for playback by disc jockeys -LRB- DJs -RRB- who create seamless selections of tracks , called a mix , by segueing from one recording to another . EDM producers also perform their music live in a concert or festival setting in what is sometimes called a live PA. . In the United Kingdom and in continental Europe , EDM is more commonly called ` dance music ' or simply ` dance ' .   In the late 1980s and early 1990s , following the emergence of raving , pirate radio , and an upsurge of interest in club culture , EDM acquired mainstream popularity in Europe . During the mid to late 1990s , despite the initial success of a number of dance acts in the United States , acceptance of dance culture was not universal , and mainstream media outlets remained hostile to its music . At this time , a perceived association between EDM and drug culture led governments at state and city level to enact laws and policies intended to halt the spread of rave culture .   By the early 2010s , the term `` electronic dance music '' and the initialism `` EDM '' was being pushed by the United States music industry and music press in an effort to rebrand American rave culture . Despite the industry 's attempt to create a specific EDM brand , the initialism remains in use as an umbrella term for multiple genres , including house , techno , trance , drum and bass , dubstep , and their respective subgenres .   Robert Arthur `` Bob '' Moog -LRB- / ˈmoʊɡ / MOHG ; May 23 , 1934 -- August 21 , 2005 -RRB- , founder of Moog Music , was an American engineer and pioneer of electronic music , best known as the inventor of the Moog synthesizer .  Early examples of electronic dance music the disco music of Giorgio Moroder in the late 1970s , and the electronic music of Kraftwerk and Yellow Magic Orchestra in the late 1970s .  Think of early electronic music and you 'll probably picture the disco anthems of the late 1970s and early 1980s . Although electronic music did n't become popular until the mid 1970s , artists were using electronic instruments as early as the 1960s .   Progressive rock bands like Pink Floyd made the iconic Moog synthesizer one of the most important aspects of their sound . Pop rock bands like The Beatles also began to incorporate keyboards and synthesizers into some of their experimental songs .   At the same time , composers were using new instruments like the Theremin in their work , particularly in the film industry . The commercial Moog synthesizer , released in the mid-1960s , is regarded as the first iconic instrument of electronic music .