Mainstream trance was criticized for following a fixed pop-format structure

As trance matured commercially in the late 1990s, influential figures including Sven Vaeth criticized mainstream trance for following a rigid format: ‘They are following a format — always producing the same structure. It’s a pop format for trance.’ AllMusic likewise noted progressive trance’s focus on ‘predictable breakdowns’ even as it became the dominant dancefloor sound. This tension between a reliable, chart-friendly formula and criticism of that same predictability is a recurring dynamic in electronic music’s commercial evolution.

Examples

Sven Vaeth’s 2006 Resident Advisor interview criticizing formula-driven trance; AllMusic’s note that critics ‘ridiculed its focus on predictable breakdowns’.

Assessment

Explain the criticism levelled at mainstream trance’s structure and why the same formula also drove its commercial success.