ICON Collective Shutters After 20 Years, Citing Financial Struggles

ICON Collective, a pillar of electronic music production education based in Los Angeles, has officially shut down. The school announced its permanent closure on May 29th, citing financial difficulties as the reason behind the abrupt move.

ICON had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on August 6th, 2024 in an effort to restructure and preserve operations before ultimately deciding to close. 

"It is with deep regret and a heavy heart that we share the news that ICON Collective will be permanently closed as of May 29," wrote co-founder David Alexander Valencia in a statement posted to the school's website. "ICON has faced financial circumstances that require a prompt closure to protect the refunds and tuition payments potentially due to students."

Although the school's website remains active, its official Instagram account has gone offline. A notice on the door of its Downtown Burbank campus now directs students to an online portal for information on academic records, tuition recovery and guidance. The stakes are especially high for international students, who have just 15 days to either transfer to a new school or leave the country.

In a lengthy statement, which you can read in full below, ICON co-founder David Alexander Valencia revealed he'd been funding the school's operations since 2022 and had refrained from taking a salary since. The recent decision by the US State Department to halt visa interviews with foreign citizens, which he called "devastating," was essentially a death knell.

"This created an immediate and significant impact on our projected enrollment so severe that it made it impossible to continue operations without putting refund obligations and student interests at risk," Valencia wrote. "That was a gamble I was not willing to take."

"I made the decision to close ICON not out of defeat, but out of responsibility," he added. "Continuing to operate without the ability to meet commitments to students would have caused greater harm. This path, though heartbreaking, was the only way to ensure a responsible wind-down."

Launched in 2005 by Valencia and Christopher Wright, ICON was developed to offer a more artist-centric approach to music education. The school in 2017 earned national accreditation before opening a facility in 2020, serving students both in-person and online. Known for its hands-on learning environment and community-oriented culture, the school became a trusted destination for aspiring DJs and electronic music producers.

Over the years, ICON helped launch the careers of many high-profile electronic artists, including NGHTMRE, SLANDER, Kayzo, Sullivan King, Kompany, Pauline Herr and the late i_o, among others. Several have taken to social media to bemoan the school's shutdown.

"Icon Collective changed EVERYTHING for us.. today is a very sad day for the music community in losing such a priceless resource," SLANDER wrote on X. "We want to thank everyone at the Collective for all the blood, sweat, and tears they put into MAKING DREAMS HAPPEN."

"RIP Icon Collective," Kompany wrote. "That school changed the course of my life and career. Forever grateful."

Former student James Choi, who performs and produces music under the alias SKYFVLL, says the school was instrumental in shaping his career.

"I was lost in my artist project before ICON," Choi tells EDM.com. "But after attending, I finally felt a sense of direction that no YouTube tutorial or Reddit thread would’ve shown. I’m still really close with my classmates, whether it’s working on collabs or going on songwriting trips, and I’m really grateful for the community that ICON gave me. It’s at ICON where I truly learned what it meant to be an artist and to be unique as one. Hands down the best decision I made in my life."

You can read Valencia's full statement below. More information about ICON's closure can be found on the school's website.

Dear ICON Students,

As the owner of ICON Collective. I want to speak to you directly and personally about the school’s sudden closure, and offer some transparency and context during what I know is a confusing and emotional moment.

First, I want to say how deeply sorry I am. I know this news came as a shock, and you deserve to understand how and why this happened.

ICON filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in November of last year not to shut down as in CH 7, but to restructure and preserve the school. At the time, I was fighting a legal battle to gain full ownership after the former owner stepped away from supporting operations. I sold everything and liquidated my life savings to make that possible, because I truly believed in the mission and the community we’ve built here.

For the past two years, I’ve been funding operations out of my own pocket and haven’t taken a salary since 2022. Instead, I invested my life savings back into ICON, to give ICON a chance to thrive. When I officially gained ownership in February 2025, I immediately began working with strategic partners to take ICON to its full potential in the new campus.

But this past week, an unexpected and devastating development occurred: the U.S. State Department halted visa interviews for international students. This created an immediate and significant impact on our projected enrollment so severe that it made it impossible to continue operations without putting refund obligations and student interests at risk. That was a gamble I was not willing to take.

I made the decision to close ICON not out of defeat, but out of responsibility. Continuing to operate without the ability to meet commitments to students would have caused greater harm. This path, though heartbreaking, was the only way to ensure a responsible wind-down.

I understand this brings uncertainty for you. Please know that we are working to ensure students receive clear guidance on refunds, transcripts, and teach-out options. Updates will be posted on this page so check back regularly. It's going to take a few days to provide the State with all your info including the refunds due to you so they can process your accounts. We will update a timeline in the FAQ below as we complete the process. You have up to 4 years to claim your refunds if one is due. For students that paid for ICON Rising or simply sent deposits for future starts, we will contact you shortly to provide your refund directly.

ICON was never just a school, it was, and always will be, a collective of artists, creatives, and heroes. That spirit lives on in all of us. The collective isn’t defined by walls or buildings, it’s defined by the passion we’ve shared and the community we’ve created. I’m incredibly proud of what we built together, and I thank you for carrying that legacy forward in your own work and journey.

I hope this added transparency reassures you that we are doing everything in our power to honor our financial responsibilities to you and to ensure this process is handled with integrity and care.

Thank you for being part of this journey. It has meant everything to me and the family I call ICON Collective.