New book, Selling The Night, examines club culture’s relationship to advertising, tourism, gaming, more

A new book, Selling The Night: When Club Culture Meets Brands, Advertising and the Creative Industries, examines club culture’s relationship to advertising, tourism, gaming, the alcohol industry, design, fashion and more. 

Written by veteran music and subculture journalist Andy Crysell, and published by electronic music specialist Velocity Press, the title looks at how dance music, its communities, and spaces influence wider social trends through mass and multimedia channels, travel, branding, and more.

Selling the Night also considers where and whether brands belong within the culture itself, the impact when this happens, and “how to keep club culture alive” in a way that allows it to continue “shaping opportunities and nurturing creativity.”

More than 100 interviews are included in the book, ranging from DJs, artists and promoters to academics, marketing professionals and policymakers. Names such as New York disco veteran Nicky Siano, celebrated producer King Britt, Hacienda designer Ben Kelly, and BBC Radio 6 Music selector Jamz Supernova all appear. 

Set to go on sale in April, copies of Selling The Night can be pre-ordered now in hardback, paperback or ebook.

“The friction created when youth subcultures meet corporate cultures is long overdue a deconstruction, ‘Selling The Night’ is necessary reading on how and why there is a transfer of time and money between consumer brands and cultural ecosystems; and what both sectors have to gain and lose through these relationships,’ said Finlay Johnson, Chief Operating Officer at the Association of Electronic Music. 

Last year, Velocity Press opened a shop selling books and posters, complete with its own small gallery, in Peckham, South London.