The Internet Has Made Trying Not Cool : A Chat w/ DMZ News

DMZ News Official sat down and gave us the inside scoop:

• Social media has changed the DNA of bass music forever
  

• The golden era of dubstep has passed (RIP Never Say Die)
  

• 5 underrated producers you NEED to listen to right now

The anonymous internet persona known as “DMZ News Official” began the project about a year and a half ago, in June of 2024. Creating your own EDM-centered parody of TMZ News doesn’t come from nowhere. “It was a joke idea… didn’t think it had any potential at all. I’ve been involved in this music space for well over 10 years. I was waking up for like two years every day and being like, how has nobody made, like, a spoof news account that makes fun of all of this shit in a way to just try to bring the seriousness down.”

While the project has adapted into making music and going on tour with bass artist Sweettooth, it maintains its mission of bringing fun back into the scene. DMZ tells us that fans seem to resonate with the project and appreciate the work that’s being done to uplift the scene.

Since its creation, DMZ News Official has garnered tens of millions of views on Instagram. Although some may think the account has generated millions of views overnight, its success didn’t come without years of industry knowledge. “I completely understand it because that's the way it looked. If you just saw this Instagram come out of nowhere, it absolutely did come overnight. At the same time, without being very heavily involved in this industry for well over the last 10 years, I would not have been able to build anything.”

The DMZ News Official account posts about recent song releases, up-and-coming artists, music festivals, and so much more. While the outlet is catered toward the bass and dubstep scene, there has been overlap with other fandoms. Love Island’s own DJ star, Nic Vans, brought thousands of his fans to the page. “We work primarily in a niche corner of the music industry. A lot of times, to perform well on social media, you do have to tailor what you’re doing to appeal to a much wider audience.”

Earning recognition in the bass scene today is nothing like it was 10 years ago. In the “golden era” of dubstep, there were record labels and people you could look to when searching for quality-assured dubstep. Most notably, Never Say Die, a renowned record label for the cream of the crop bass and dubstep artists. DMZ told us that now, “The music industry is a part of the entertainment industry, and an entertainer's job is to sell tickets.”

It seems like fame in the scene is based on virality and followers, not the art itself. “I got involved around like 2009, 2010, and for the first maybe five years, content was just not a thing. There was not a single content creator/musician. There was also no money in dubstep. During that time, the only people that were involved in bass music were the straight-up nerdiest guys who just loved doing this shit. Strictly back then, it was only music. The only way you saw success was through the music. That, in my opinion, is the glory era of bass music. Can we go back to that? I don’t think so.”

Like everything in life, there are pros and cons. On one hand, one viral video can bring hundreds of thousands of followers and views to your project, and on the other hand, some may think it's a cheat code or unfair to those who focus on quality music first before social media. “If you don’t wanna do the internet thing, awesome, stand on business, do your thing, but to spin it and try to paint everyone who is trying in a bad light, I think is just really wack. The internet has made trying not cool, and I think that’s so fucked up.”

But the most valuable piece of advice?

“If you are an artist in 2026 and you are choosing not to do the social media and TikTok game, you are 10,000% leaving money on the table, and anyone else who is has a million steps ahead of you.”

You can’t spend hours on the internet sorting through new releases, Instagram reels, and dubstep artists without having a list of producers that deserve recognition. So we asked… DMZ, who’s next up?

“Oh man, that’s a great question. Everyone on our team is and has been Sora riders for the last 10 years, probably. I think he’s one of the most talented artists that have graced bass music with their contributions. Would love to see him get his flowers.”