The 3-day International Music Summit (IMS) took place in Ibiza again this year from April 26-28 at the beautiful Destino Pacha Resort, attended by 1,500 delegates from the global electronic music community.
Created in 2007, IMS is a thought-leadership platform for electronic music, culture, education, technology and wellness, created to inspire ethical change and catalyse sustainable growth within the diverse global music industry, from the boardroom to the dancefloor. Across the 3 days, the aim of the summit was to unite innovators, creators, visionaries and disruptors from across the global electronic music industry to analysis the most crucial business challenges and opportunities being faced today.
For this 14th edition of the Summit, the theme was ‘Face the Future’. Co-hosted by BBC Radio 1 broadcasters Pete Tong MBE and Jaguar, topics scheduled included debates and discussions of the complexities of AI, the next steps for music and Web3, diversity and inclusion, the impact of ageism in electronic music, music rights management, understanding neurodiversity, the ever-changing dynamic between agents and promoters, an analysis of music journalism, plus the presentation of the much anticipated IMS Business Report. Alongside this were plenty of interviews with artists and players in the industry plus opportunities for showcasing products and services and networking.
IMS co-founder and lead curator Ben Turner stated: “In 2023, we no longer have the luxury of speculating about the future: AI has fully arrived, and things will move fast from this point forward. In our industry's first full year back to business after COVID, we're presented with a dizzying array of new products, problems, and possibilities. Artists finally returning to touring do so amongst a huge generational shift and soaring production and travel costs whilst attempting to navigate the increasingly complex environmental issues surrounding live music. As a tidal wave of AI-generated content sweeps in, some welcome a new era of creative possibilities, while others lament the loss of another aspect of humanity in music, all while a cornucopia of unanswered questions are created concerning the control of rights. It's time for us to collectively ‘Face the Future’.”
Making good use of the vastness and diversity of the space at the Destino Pacha Resort, different areas were created for Summit sessions, networking and of course DJ sets and parties. There were 2 Summit stages, one indoor and one outdoor. Basement club ‘Tox’ became home to the educational focus that is IMS College, there was a Tech Zone, a YouTube Lounge for presentations and networking, the Party Suite (presented by Party Degenerates), the Deezer Suite, a Garden Suite and Beatport Base housed in 2 of the villas, plus meeting rooms and an outdoor DJ booth, where DJs played throughout.
The Art of Areté space offered daily programming supporting mental health and wellness that included meditation, breathwork, yoga, sound healing, sunset walks, and keynote artist interviews.
With a huge, parallel programme over the 3 days, it is impossible to attend, let alone summarise, all of the sessions and activities, so here are some highlights of things that interested me and a brief snapshot of The Summit from my point of view.
Day 1 of the Summit began at 12.00, with brief introductions from co-hosts BBC Radio 1 broadcasters Pete Tong and Jaguar, and IMS founding partners.
The first session is always the unveiling of The IMS Business Report which was presented by Mark Mulligan, (MD & Analyst, MIDiA Research).
The brief was to look at how the global electronic music business now stands in terms of its value, after the first full year back to business since the pandemic. As well as highlighting the changes and the emerging trends, it provides evidence of the importance of the global dance music industry, which is currently valued at 11.3 billion dollars annually, 16% higher than pre-pandemic, with 34% growth in 2022, showing a strong recovery year for the dance music sector and also the entire music industry.
Interesting takeaways from the report:
Ibiza’s clubs emerged post-pandemic with more demand, more nights and more revenue than before. Ibiza club ticketing revenue reached €124 million in 2022, up 55% from the €80 million registered in 2019 This was underpinned by increases in the number of events per venue, average ticket prices, and the total number of tickets sold going from 2 million in 2019 to 2.5 million in 2022.
TikTok has fast become the central place for fan engagement and electronic music plays a big role there.
Live: 2022 was a big year overall for the live industry – the top 100 global tours saw revenue up 276% (Pollstar); Live Nation’s revenues were up 166%; and bookings for the top 100 DJs increased by 314% in 2022 (Viberate). Dance music live revenues were up 65% on 2021, reaching $4.1 billion, which is still slightly below the 2019 total of $4.4 billion and actually represents a significant decline in industry share. So more growth to be unlocked.
Recorded and publishing: Combined revenues were up by 13%, reaching $1.9 billion. Dance music largely grew in line with the wider markets, but slightly increased share.
Production music and hardware: Including studio and DJ equipment, electronic music instruments, software, sounds/samples, and skills sharing/analysis, this crucial sector was up by 7%, reaching $2.8 billion. This growth was broadly in line with the total market.
Key conclusions:
Finally, the dance music industry has shaken off the effects of the pandemic, coming out the other side, bigger, better, stronger and more relevant than ever.
The pandemic shone a harsh light on the industry’s heavy-reliance on live. Now, that reliance is even higher because of live’s huge growth.
There are two key differences from 2019: 1) a resurgent creator tools sector; and 2) a music publishing business that is finally beginning to find its share.
The future is bright, with the rise of creator culture, bringing ever more people into dance music, both as fans and creators, with the creator-fan set to be at the centre of tomorrow’s dance music world.
If you want to see the detail about where the big changes and growth areas are, the full IMS Business Report can be downloaded from here (it’s 35 pages long but it’s an interesting read with lots of graphs to illustrate everything): https://mcusercontent.com/77ec3e3fadbb08e9f7ddbfb93/files/c759b1ce-0ef9-04eb-18de-b5d8af073181/MIDiA_IMS_Business_Report.pdf
This was followed by a Keynote Interview with Max Lousada, CEO of Recorded Music at Warner Music Group, interviewed by Pete Tong.
He was also the first CEO of a major label to speak at IMS and spoke about his background in the industry and some of the current challenges his company and the industry faces. As well as talking about the potential of tapping into new global markets, as big populations come online, such as in Asia and Africa, he talked a lot about how artists and their label can use social media, particularly TikTok to create what he called “memorable moments” that will provide fans with an emotional and personal connection to an artist, leading to loyalty and therefore repeat sales of music, tickets, merchandising and so on.
Interesting takeaways:
Artists need to love to create and be passionate about their music-making and also be concerned about their fans.
TikTok - artists’ use of TikTok is important but not critical, but it’s a great accelerant to their popularity.
Role of radio - not important for breaking an artist, but it’s useful for elongating acts and it drives ticket sales. It’s good for promotion.
AI - when asked about whether he was excited or fearful of AI he said that some of the challenges are how we protect artists (copyright, legislation), visualising output and issues of creativity (humans) v technology. He thinks that the best creatives working with AI will probably create the best output, but we’ll have to watch and understand what it will become and it will be important to protect rights, likeness and voice.
After that very business-focused session, I went to explore the venue and hung out in the IMS Garden Suite for a while. Housed in one of the stand-alone villas in the complex (complete with private pool and a Dalt Vila view, the Garden Suite was provided by Brian Eno’s EarthPercent charity, which aims to unleash the power of music in service of the planet. In the garden of the villa, it’s a social area for delegates to connect, discuss and learn more about the intersectionality of music and climate, with discussions and live DJs. With lots of low Moroccan-style tables and floor cushions under a shady canopy, grass, and views of the sea and across to Dalt Vila, it was a welcome relaxing oasis from the hustle and bustle of the main areas of the venue.
Day 1 ended with networking over complimentary poolside drinks and canapés, hosted by Ultra Records, which gave people a chance to meet and chat about the day’s proceedings and enjoy a drink in the sunshine and look out over the resort and the view across to the port and Dalt Vila.
Day 2 began for me with a debate on ‘Understanding the unstoppable: AI and music unravelled - the potential, the threats, the future’. AI is currently a hot topic in many disciplines, and is possibly the most important IMS discussion in 2023, as AI is everywhere in our sights, and is beginning to be integrated into our culture. With an introduction from Jean-Charles Carré (Artist Management, Co-founder, What a Music Ltd and David Guetta’s co-manager), the debate was moderated by Declan McGlynn (Music Technology Journalist, Consultant), joined by Daouda Leonard (CEO & Co-Founder, Create Safe), Edward Balassanian (Founder/CEO, Aimi), Jay Ahern (Director of Music Industry Relations, Cyanite.ai), Meng Ru Kuok (CEO & Co-founder, BandLab Technologies) and Tatiana Cirisano (Analyst, MIDiA Research). It was widely felt that artists should be able to opt in or opt out of being incorporated into AI content. Discussion ensued about the recent AI-generated Drake and The Weeknd song ‘Heart On My Sleeve’ created by @ghostwriter that went viral. The response was that there’s a need to establish codes of conduct and that it’s early days for all this. The novelty of these AI-generated tunes will probably wear off and that AI might become a dirty word quite quickly.
Interesting takeaways:
AI will replace samples.
Intellectual property is a big issue.
AI might encourage artists to be more distinctive - differentiation for artists is the problem now, not distribution - they’re competing for recognition.
AI is not good at music creation - humans are much better.
The world needs access to more people that can create - billions of people around the world don’t have access to be able to create their own music - they don’t have access to the necessary technology.
What happens when the floodgates open and there are hundreds and thousands of tracks uploaded to Spotify every day? How will platforms like Spotify deal with all this content being created? “Curation is going to become the big buzz word.”
The way we find music is super important.
AI is a way of making cheap music.
Will you be able to create mistakes when you’re creating music - some of my best moments happen when something went wrong in the studio - will AI learn to do that?
In terms of licensing, artists should be able to opt in or out.
Curation leads to discovery and then revenue for artists and labels.
Generative AI is a new medium.
There’s a need for analytical AI to filter out the AI generated music.
There were differences in opinions on the future of AI, with one saying that these small evolutions happen all the time in the music industry, and that AI will probably come and go like most of them, whereas another said I don’t think AI is going to be passé any time soon, it’s in its infancy. Time will tell, but the debate is likely to continue for some years.
Next up was a keynote interview with Fabio & Grooverider who were interviewed by Carl Loben (Editor, DJ Magazine) on the outdoor stage. As a pioneering DJ duo who shaped the sound of drum ’n’ bass (D&B), they played a vital role in establishing the house, techno and early breakbeat scenes in the UK. Setting the scene, Carl stated that D&B has only become commercial in the last few years, and is now the 4th most popular genre in electronic music.
They related lots of humorous tales and anecdotes about how their musical style developed from wanting to get hip hop into house, leading to jungle which came from a fusion of adding breakbeats to house and how the ‘Rage’ night at Heaven in London led to the birth of jungle. It took off to the extent that everyone, including Goldie, would give them tunes before anyone else and that’s what set them apart, joking that Carl Cox said he couldn’t keep up with them and was going to start playing techno. On D&B they said that they’ve been playing it for 20 years now, but in the early days it wasn’t cool, but it’s forward thinking music which is why people get it 15 years later. “The great thing about D&B is that you can put anything in it.” They embraced digital technology and CDs eventually because it was hard work carrying records around, especially after 9/11 and they often got lost or damaged when they travelled to gigs abroad. Roni Size was first person I saw playing from CDs, but he made it look hard which is why I didn’t start doing it at first. I love vinyl but the logistics and damage that could occur was not worth it. One night in a club, DJ Flight played a track I had paid a lot of money for and planned to play, but I played it again because it cost so much to buy it, and it jumped, so I thought that was it. They then went on to talk about their collaboration with The Outlook Orchestra at London’s Southbank Centre, how that came about and how it worked. They genuinely seemed surprised by their continuing success, with Grooverider joking “I still think I’ll have to go back to work next year which keeps me going because I don’t want to have to go back to work”. When asked where their favourite places to play are, the response was Australia and New Zealand as they have the same or better vibe than the UK and now there’s so much D&B in the UK that it’s not special any more. The genre is also kicking off again in the USA, but there they call it ‘fast dubstep’. Asked why they thought D&B had never had a hold in Ibiza, Grooverider said “drop the drink prices” and then it might happen because drink prices are important to the D&B crowd. They have played here but Ibiza is a hard nut to crack for D&B. If they don’t cut the drink and entrance prices it ain’t going to happen. Talking about the early days, they said that black people couldn’t get into house clubs and that there weren’t many black DJs playing in the clubs, so you had to be good. Grooverider gets the last word, saying “dance music brings a lot of cultures together”.
Video clip. Fabio & Grooverider talking about the current revival of jungle music.
I caught a bit of the debate Web3: Where to now? The brief was that Web3 promised decentralised, tokenised music experiences, giving artists back control of their output and fans a new way to support the music they love.
As hype and investment cools, can web3 still deliver a utopian future for creatives? What needs to change, what have we learned and where can we go from here? Someone stated that we’re in the early days and initially there was a gold rush on what W3 could bring to creators, but the hype cycle moves on to something else. Someone else said that Web3 is just another toolset - last year it was all about Web3, this year it’s all about AI. I didn’t catch the rest as I wanted to go to another session.
One of the most humorous interviews of the day took place in The Garden Suite, as DJ Fat Tony was interviewed by Radio 1’s Sarah Story. The briefing said: Fat Tony is one of the UK’s most-loved DJ characters. A staple in the London club scene from the late 80s, his wild reputation has evolved into a best-selling book ‘I Don't Take Requests’ about his life, and now over 15 years sober, he reflects on the industry and scene that nearly ended his life. Often referred to as dance music’s craziest DJ, he told so many stories about his life and some of the people he has encountered along the way, including Madonna, Kate Moss, Joan Collins and Elton John and had us all in stitches. He also talked openly about his addictions to drinking, drugs and sex. If you want to know the detail, I’m sure they’re all there in the book which is out in paperback on May 25th, or else check on the IMS YouTube channel to see if they publish the interview.
Video clip. Fat Tony talking about what makes a good DJ.
Next up was an interview with Orbital, brothers Phil and Paul Hartnoll. Interviewed by Pete Tong, their former A&R man on the outdoor stage, they talked for 45 minutes about 35 years of their careers. How they started making music, what it was like when they started to get noticed and their first appearance on Top of the Pops, through to giving up the day job to concentrate full-time on making music and developing the live show. They first appeared at Glastonbury in 1994, and told the fascinating tale of how they ended up headlining one of the stages as the first dance act ever to do so and in the process they changed Glastonbury forever. Watch the video clip below to hear the story of how this came about.
Video clip. Orbital talking about their first appearance at Glastonbury.
With lots of topics in between, including the use of samples, creating film soundtracks, how some of their albums were created, including their latest release ‘Optical Delusion’ which is their 10th studio album (their Covid lockdown album), on to being back together again as a touring band in 2023 and how they are finding that. Paul said it’s different from the old days, I’d go for a run in the mornings and then go to an art gallery - I loved discovering new places and I really enjoyed it. Paul also talked about his view on AI and how he is experimenting with it. However he did go on to say later that a lot of the best things when making music are what he called ‘happy accidents’, when something unexpected happens that changes what you are creating for the better.
Video clip. Orbital talking about AI.
Day 2 ended with networking drinks around the pool, followed by the IMS Legends Dinner in honour of this year’s legend, Mike Pickering at Beachouse in Playa d’en Bossa. Mike Pickering is a true pioneer and visionary in electronic music, his achievements are numerous: Hacienda DJ, Factory Records A&R signing Happy Mondays, Deconstruction Records boss bringing Black Box, Guru Josh, K Klass, Felix and Kyle Minogue and of course his own M People to the world and Columbia Records A&R who signed Calvin Harris amongst others. These are just a few highlights of a long career that has left a lasting legacy on electronic music and its culture. DJ Spoony hosted the event and Mike was interviewed by Pete Tong. Sadly I wasn’t there, so can’t comment more fully on what happened.
Day 3 started a bit late for me. I needed time to take stock of everything and also save myself for the Dalt Vila party in the evening (I also had bus problems getting to Destino but that’s another, very boring story).
I arrived later than expected but caught the very end of Marshall Jefferson’s masterclass of how he created his house classic ‘Move Your Body’ for IMS College. That should have been a very interesting session and I was annoyed to have missed most of it. Marshall played a set B2B with Ida Engberg at the Dalt Vila party in the evening and he played that tune.
I also caught the beginning of the in conversation session on the outdoor stage with legendary dance music producer Jellybean Benitez and Layla Benitez his daughter who is a rising global DJ star. This was ahead of their scheduled back to back set at the Dalt Vila party in the evening. Sadly this session clashed with the final keynote interview, so I missed pretty much all of it.
The Summit at Destino ended with a keynote interview with Grimes who was interviewed by Jaguar (BBC Radio 1 and founder of The Jaguar Foundation). The briefing in the schedule was that she is the ‘ultimate independent artist leading the way in Web3, AI, visuals, environmental principles … and making incredible music along the way’, and those were the topics that she talked about for an hour. Canadian born Claire Elise Boucher (aka Grimes) is an all-round artist and clearly has very strong opinions on lots of things. Musically at the moment she sees herself being both an artist and an engineer, and that in dance music, art and technology are married to each other. She fully embraces AI, saying that anyone who wants to use her voice can, and that they should share the output 50/50. She said that there’s “way too much gatekeeping in music” and that “copyright sucks” and art shouldn’t belong to anyone. She also believes that the music industry is defined by lawyers and is a stranglehold on music. She sees no reason why other people can’t use your voice and that you need to get rid of copyright - kind of open sourcing Grimes. She said that this moment feels like the beginning of the Internet and is one of the coolest times to be an artist ever. Jaguar asked her about when permission isn’t given and she replied that “I think consent is good but it doesn’t bother me”, you have to give up creative control. However she also said that you can’t replace that human touch of someone singing. Ethically there are difficult issues with AI, like is it ethical to use the voice of a dead artist, but you have to essentially do what is ethically right. Jaguar asked her where does she see AI going, and she replied that it depends on how much regulation there is and who regulates it and she would like the labels to have less control. “I don’t think art should be owned” and that everything about copyright is wrong.
Video clip. Grimes talking about AI and opening up to the risks.
She went on to talk a bit about how some of her albums were created, collaborating with other artists and lots more. She confessed that she has really bad stage fright, but loves DJing and thinks it’s really fun.
If you want to watch the entire interview with Grimes it has already been posted on the IMS YouTube Channel:
Welcome to the International Music Summit's official YouTube channel.
IMS has earned a reputation as 'the TED of music conferences', bringi
Dalt Vila party
The finale of The Summit is always the infamous party in Dalt Vila. Held in the Baluard de Santa Lucia at the top of Dalt Vila, it’s one of the best locations for an outdoor party in the world, with views up to the cathedral and across to the port and the hills behind Ibiza Town.
Kicking off the proceedings this year at 5pm was Constanza Pucheta, the Pete Tong DJ Academy Winner. With a couple of old-skool house DJs included in the lineup this year, the sets moved through a variety of house/dance genres, with great sets from Jaguar B2B with Taahliah, daughter and father Layla Benitez B2B Jellybean Benitez, Ida Engberg B2B Marshall Jefferson, Pete Tong B2B Kölsch, Anna, culminating with Camelphat closing the show just before midnight.
As in other years, it’s always an amazing finale to The Summit and it’s a great atmosphere watching and listening to the DJs as day turns into night and the impressive light, visual and laser show kicks in to accompany the music.
IMS Ibiza 2023 was another action-packed 3 days of interesting and entertaining interviews, debates and sessions, providing much food for thought for delegates and opportunities for networking in some of the best spaces that Ibiza has to offer. The hot topic that came up time and time again this year was AI, the debate having moved on from last years’ interest in Web3. People were also talking about ‘fans’ and how to build ‘fandom’, particularly in relation to TikTok and how this can increase revenue streams for artists (for both DJs and musicians). This was something I had not noticed in previous years (it even came up in the IMS Business Report), possibly because of the increasing use of Web3 tools and social media for promotion and monetisation.
”He simply refuses to settle. I discovered that for myself the first time I met Robert. He was playing me an album he’d just finished, “Lullaby and The Ceaseless Roar.” His first record in four years. I couldn’t wait to hear it.
But Robert wouldn’t let me press play until the conditions were just right. He even had us close all the curtains.
Here was someone who cared deeply about sound, about atmosphere, about being fully present in the moment. Someone who lives by the simple truth that being great – and staying great – means you never stop caring, never stop striving.
When I’m playing someone new music, I often think about that moment. And the reverence Robert has for music and its power to move and connect us.”
~ Max Lousada, Warner Music Global CEO of Recorded Music (presenting Robert Plant with Outstanding Achievement award at 2018 Silver Clef Ceremony)
IMS Ibiza, a thought-leadership platform at the precipice of culture, education, industry and wellness in electronic music, announces today the first details of its carefully curated programming for the fourteenth edition of the summit, hosted at the inspiring Destino Pacha Ibiza Resort, which, for the second year, will be privatized exclusively for attending delegates. Across three days, the summit will unite innovators, creators, visionaries and disruptors from across the global electronic music ecosystem for analysis of the most crucial business challenges and opportunities facing our industry today.
Co-hosted by leading BBC Radio 1 broadcasters Pete Tong MBE and Jaguar, the summit will deconstruct the topics and issues that really matter, inspiring ethical and sustainable growth, and catalysing positive change from the boardroom to the dance floor. Topics will include a dissection of the complexities of AI, the next steps for music and Web3, diversity & inclusion, the impact of ageism in electronic music, music rights management, understanding neurodiversity, the ever-changing dynamic between agents and promoters, an analysis of music journalism, plus the unveiling of the much anticipated IMS Business Report and its widely quoted annual industry valuation figure, which has become critical to the industry’s positioning and success.
In his debut appearance at IMS Ibiza, Max Lousada (Warner Music Group, CEO, Recorded Music) will reflect upon his long and influential career in the music industry in a keynote interview, covering his deep affinity for Ibiza and electronic music and lifting the lid on his vision for the future of WMG’s global recorded music operations.
Having carved out a reputation as one of the freshest new artists in UK club culture, BBC Radio 1 Resident and Hooversound label boss SHERELLE (Artist) will be joined in conversation with Fabio & Grooverider (Artists), the pioneering DJ duo that shaped the sound of drum 'n' bass and played a vital role in establishing the house, techno and early breakbeat scenes in the UK.
In ‘Reclaim Your Rights’ Ben Mawson (Co-Founder, TaP Music) will present a fascinating case study on how TaP Music spearheaded the lawsuit that led to house legends Larry Head and Robert Owens winning a major court battle to reclaim the rights to their back catalogue after decades of struggle.
A live recording of the ‘Takin’ Care of Lady Busine$$’ podcast will unite Jennifer Justice (Founder/CEO, The Justice Dept.), an entertainment and live experience executive and former attorney to Jay-Z, known for her expertise in building artists’ careers, with TOKiMONSTA (Artist) to discuss the latter's new venture as Co-Founder of SONA, a Web3-based music protocol putting artists in control of the culture they create.
Fat Tony (Artist), will share the journey of his ascent to kingpin of the 80s and 90s club scene as one of London’s most notoriously hedonistic DJs, to rehab and recovery, in an intimate and revealing keynote interview.
Planet in Progress by foundation.fm will present DJ, producer, pianist, activist, founder of Femme House and Music Director for W Hotels, LP Giobbi (Artist) leading a workshop to teach key skills in Sound Production, Engineering and Design for women, queer and non-binary folk.
Elijah (Founder, Make The Ting) will present his workshop ‘Social Media As A Canvas’, sharing his wisdom and expertise around cutting through the noise on social media to build resonant brands and get your voice heard as an artist.
In ‘Trust The Process’ Cristiana Simon (Artist Manager, Alegria Agency) manager of Grammy-Award winning artist Black Coffee will share her experiences of taking a leap of faith as a young manager
IMS finally brings back the Presidential Debate to the speaker floor, as Tom Schroeder (Wasserman, Partner; Agency) goes head-to-head with a leading promoter yet to be announced
Live tastemaker and master curator David Sinopoli (Founder, iii Points; Co-Owner, Club Space) will share some of his secrets around building one of the world's most credibly curated and creatively cutting-edge festivals and while managing one of the world's biggest nightclubs, making Miami one of the most important cities in the global dance landscape.
Each year, IMS Ibiza presents opportunities for delegates to explore best practice and innovation in technology, diversity & inclusion, education & wellness, presented in engaging formats discoverable across the sprawling seaside Destino Pacha Resort site.
Wellness platform The Art of Areté will once again be fully integrated into the IMS Ibiza experience free of charge to all attendees thanks to the generosity of Pioneer DJ. It will offer daily programming supporting the mental health of our industry, including Vedic Meditation training (as taught by Beatles' guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi), breathwork, yoga, sound healing, sunset walks, and keynote artist interviews to be announced.
IMS College, presented in partnership with Point Blank Music School, will offer a complete schedule of artist-led workshops and DJ & production masterclasses. In between the on-stage sessions, delegates will be able to drop in for one-on-one production feedback, career coaching and product demonstrations.
IMS Tech X will showcase the very latest in technology, providing a carefully curated selection of the world’s most innovative brands, including Pioneer DJ, TribeXR and more.
The YouTube Lounge, will create an all purpose co-working space for delegates to host meetings, network and enjoy refreshments. Daily drop-in sessions will invite delegates to come and meet the YouTube team for open discussions on all aspects of the platform and best practice advice for the electronic music industry. Lounges will also be presented by Beatport, Deezer and Party Degenerates.
The IMS Legends Awards Dinner presented by YouTube will return to celebrate and recognise a true pioneer in the electronic music world for their outstanding contribution to the industry. Previous winners include Simon Dunmore - founder of Defected Records, Underworld, Nile Rodgers, Fatboy Slim, Carl Cox and Ricardo Urgell, founder of Pacha Ibiza, and the worldwide Pacha Group.
IMS co-founder and lead curator Ben Turner states:
“IMS returns to open the Ibiza season with a powerful and diverse mix of carefully considered content focused on the key issues facing our industry today. In 2023, we no longer have the luxury of speculating about the future: AI has fully arrived, and things will move fast from this point forward. In our industry's first full year back to business after COVID, we're presented with a dizzying array of new products, problems, and possibilities. Artists finally returning to touring do so amongst a huge generational shift and soaring production and travel costs whilst attempting to navigate the increasingly complex environmental issues surrounding live music. As a tidal wave of AI-generated content sweeps in, some welcome a new era of creative possibilities, while others lament the loss of another aspect of humanity in music, all while a cornucopia of unanswered questions are created concerning the control of rights. It's time for us to collectively ‘Face the Future’.”
Dan Chalmers, Head of Music EMEA YouTube states:
"YouTube is proud to support IMS in bringing together world-leading music pioneers. Innovation has always been at the heart of electronic music; forums like IMS are vital to bring us together as an industry to explore how we can collectively innovate and break new ground in the face of an ever evolving technological landscape. Change comes from within, and we're excited to continue our partnership with IMS to empower the next generation of music visionaries.”
IMS Ibiza Summit delegates will also be able to experience some of the hottest parties and events on the island, including the iconic IMS Dalt Vila closing celebration. Delegate Badges for IMS Ibiza Summit are available to purchase now on the IMS website via exclusive ticketing partner DICE, including concessions for Students, Under 27’s, Ibiza Residents and Delegates using sustainable travel to arrive in Ibiza. More information can be found at www.internationalmusicsummit.com
IMS IBIZA
Hosted by Pete Tong & Jaguar
FIRST TEN SPEAKERS FOR IMS IBIZA 2023
Max Lousada (CEO, Recorded Music, Warner Music Group) - Keynote Interview
Sherelle w/ Fabio & Grooverider - In Conversation
Ben Mawson (Co-Founder, TaP Music) - Reclaim Your Rights: A Case Study with TaP Music Publishing
Jennifer Justice (CEO, The Justice Dept.) w/ TOKiMONSTA - Takin’ Care of Lady Busine$$ (Live Podcast)
Fat Tony - Keynote Interview
LP Giobbi - Planet In Progress by FoundationFM (Production Masterclass)
Elijah presents Yellow Squares (Founder, Make The Ting) — Social Media As A Canvas (Workshop)
Cristiana Simon (Artist Manager, Alegria Agency) — Trust The Process (Discussion)
Tom Schroeder (Executive VP, Wasserman) - Agent vs Promoter (Presidential Debate)
David Sinopoli (Founder, iii Points; Co-Owner, Club Space) - Keynote Interview
FIRST TEN TOPICS FOR IMS IBIZA 2023
Understanding the Unstoppable: AI Unravelled (Half-Day)
Web3: Where to Now? (Half-Day)
Diversity & Inclusivity: A Deep Discussion
Ageing in Club Culture hosted by Jennifer Cardini
Reclaim Your Rights: A Case Study by TaP Music Publishing w/ Ben Mawson & Anna Neville (TaP Music Publishing) & John Truelove (Truelove Music)
Matters of the Mind: Understanding Neurodiversity hosted by AFEM (Association for Electronic Music)
Agent vs. Promoter (Presidential Debate)
AI: For & Against (Presidential Debate)
The State of Electronic Music Journalism hosted by Shawn Reynaldo from First Floor
How To…Sell Your Career Catalogue hosted by Maximilien Jazani (Founder, Catalogue Associates Limited)
TEN IMS REGULARS
IMS Business Report 2023 + Analysis Q&A (Wednesday)
IMS Legends Dinner presented by YouTube (Thursday)
Max Lousada, CEO of Recorded Music for Warner Music Group, sits for a candid conversation about the state of the music industry and how he’s shaping its future.
Why did Warner just spend $180m to buy a merchandising company?
The merchandise business is clearly booming, and affecting the US charts – which is why there’s perhaps never been a more obvious time for a major music company to expand its merch capabilities.
Last month, Warner Music Group completed a $180m deal to do just that, buying Germany-based music merch maker and e-tailer EMP Merchandising. (Technically speaking, according to Warner filings, that price actually grew to $191m (€165m) due to additional net debt.)
Following the EMP acquisition, Max Lousada, CEO of Recorded Music, WMG, said: “In today’s streaming world, merchandise is still one of the best ways that fans can express their passions and personalities. It’s also a big part of how music has visible and physical impact on global culture and fashion.” read more at musicbusinessworldwide.com
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Why did Warner just spend $180m to buy a merchandising company? was originally published on Hookblast
9th July 2014 - The 'Music Surgery' workshop with CEO of Warner Music UK, Max Lousada
What has Max Lousada NOT done? His tenacity has got him from putting on club nights, collecting records, selling records to running record labels and record deals. It started with In a Silent Way which supported independent DJ’s; Ultimate Dilemma (Zero Seven); Which led to Rawkus Records (Mos Def, Company Flow, Blackstar) which was all about the underground Hip-Hop scene; becoming the head of A&R at Mushroom Records (Muse, Garbage, Paul Oakenfold) and then rolling onto Atlantic Records (Bruno Mars, Damian Rice, Paulo Nutini, Ed Sheeran, Plan B) all the way to CEO of Warner Music UK. Mr Lousada is renowned for his ‘building bridges’ attitude to the relationship between record label and artist and swimming along the current of the ever-evolving music business. Lousada has firmly stood by the conception that you must trust your gut when it comes to discovering talent and never allow your limitations to restrict your recognition of real, authentic creativity. For oh so long, so many of us have been looking through the keyhole of the Warner Music Headquarters. But then, the opportunity arose for 20 music and business- orientated individuals to sit in a boardroom and pick the brain of the CEO Mr Max Lousada himself. So, naturally I jumped about 10 feet in the air at the chance to write a blog about the workshop.
“This time with Max is personal to you.” – Kwame Kwaten, ‘Cre8ing Vision’ founder tells us this is for our ears only!
As the glass lift rose to the 5th floor, so did everyone’s anticipation and pure excitement. We all sat down around the boardroom table, pens and notepads galore. This was about to get oldskool! No smart phones, no Ipads, no gimmicks.
It would be fitting to refer to the partakers as the surgeons and consider Max as the brain that was about to be dissected. It is the ‘Music Surgery’ after all.
At 4pm Max casually sauntered into the room. An immediate sense of ‘Right, let’s do this!’ filled the atmosphere. One by one we introduced ourselves, from one end of the table to the other in a perfect ‘staccato’ inspired, punctual rhythm.
During the course of the Music Surgery, Max offered a frank and candid insight into the many different facets of the music industry, touching on his journey, the relationship between artist and record label, music distribution, musical structure, the digital era, how audiences have changed over time and what it takes to get to the top of your game.
Then it was a free for all…. Max gave a concise yet detailed response to every question the partakers posed to him. There was no sugar coating and THAT is what we wanted: Real, unadulterated TRUTH. Bottom line? Put in the time, your creativity, the business intelligence; take risks within an ever-changing industry (and this does not apply to JUST the music industry, but to ALL industries) and you shall reap the benefits. There is no ‘if it’s meant to be it will be’about it.
I think this was the first time I have ever sat down for a lengthy period of time without looking at my watch or fidgeting or my thoughts wondering elsewhere. Myself, and the entire boardroom were totally enthralled in Max’s words. Before we (and Max) knew it, it was time for him to attend his next appointment. We could have easily sat talking with him well into the evening.
I know I speak for all of us when I say that the irrefutable inspiration we all felt will remain and just add to the hustle. It’s as if everyone felt READY to go and just DO what needs to be done. No procrastination! It was clear from the offset that everyone in the room took their craft seriously; I feel as though a new breed of CEO’s, A&R’s, music producers and walked out of the Warner Music Headquarters on Thursday.
