13:46:00
A+ A-

EVENT NEWS: IMS Ibiza 2016, The third day highlights


THE FINAL DAY OF IMS IBIZA 2016 SAW THE FOLLOWING TOPICS DISCUSSED:

The Great Annual Ibiza Debate: Year 9
Keynote Interview: Yello interviewed by Craig McLean
Keynote Address: How I Sold My Company And Bought It Back with Kenny Gates
Diversity In Electronic Music: A Vote For Vertical Proliferation in association with Shesaid.so
IMS Vote hosted by Ben Turner & Danny Whittle (IMS Partners)
Keynote Interview: Dear Morni interviewed by Ben Turner
IMS presents Question Time
IMS Final Summary presented by IMS Partners
Introducing… ENTER.Sake with Richie Hawtin
Keynote Interview: The Pet Shop Boys



Confirming their position as industry leaders in presenting educational, inspirational and motivational discussions within the electronic music industry, the final day of IMS Ibiza 2016 provided an ideal bookend to the three-day summit. An amalgamation of subjects saw issues of diversity, humour within the scene, and the island itself serve as talking points, plus a keynote interview with Pet Shop Boys and an exclusive announcement from Swiss duo Yello.



Opening with the annual Ibiza date chaired by Grego O’Halloran, day-three opened with some of the island’s most influential players. A particularly poignant topic for this year following the closure of Space, Pete Tong joined the conversation explaining:

Things do change. It’s been there for 27, and there’s nothing we can do about it now. He (Yann) knows what it means to the island, he knows the potential of the place going forward. We’ll all wait with anticipation to see what comes next. But change happens.” – Pete Tong

Speaking of the launch of Sankey’s brand new event Dance 88/89 that debuted on Wednesday – and seeks to bring back the Acid House and Balearic beat era – Mr C spoke of its vibe, explaining:

The whole energy of the place like there was something new going on. It will be one of the success stories of Ibiza this coming season.” – Mr C

As the talk progressed, Shauna Slevin (manager of The Martinez Brothers) suggested a growing saturation within the island, whilst Pete Tong added that, despite, other up and coming territories, it still remains of huge importance.

There are a lot of roadblocks in Ibiza to do your own thing. There’s a lot of competition.” – Shauna Slevin

If you’re an underground DJ, up-and-coming and playing on the house and techno scene, playing in Brooklyn and Detroit, I think it’s very important to still come to Ibiza. It depends on what kind of music you’re in.” – Pete Tong

A keynote interview with legendary Swiss electronica duo Yello followed, which saw them exclusively announce their first live tour in their 38-year career as well as a brand new album, Toy.

This album will be more uptempo, more poppy. With some typical Yello sound effects.” – Boris Blank

When Boris starts, he allowed himself to be driven by what happens in the process. Each brush stroke influences the next. That’s why we called it ‘Toy’. It goes back to the creative. We’re using all the technology available, but approaching it like a child.” – Dieter Mieler



Introductions to ticketing platform DICE, prolific Youtuber Suicide Sheep plus KID Talks and also featured, whilst Kenny Gates of PIAS offered an insightful keynote interview around selling companies and getting them back.

I’ve made plenty of mistakes in my life and career. But I’ve also made a few good decisions. It’s how you respond to these that truly make your character…It’s an emotional business. A people business. A talent business. We are drawn to all of the things – not just the money.” – Kenny Gates

One of the most talked about discussions of the day was the Diversity In Electronic Music panel, which was held in association with global network Shesaid.so. Tackling issues of female representation within the electronic music industry, Jackie Antas of Live Nation provided a run-down of current statistics to kickstart the debate:

In 2014, only 18% of electronic labels include women on their rosters
Women made up 11% of rosters in 2016
Just 1 out of 15 of Billboard’s One’s to Watch were women
No major music labels have female bosses
Nicole Moudaber gave a frank viewpoint around this representation, and suggested that both women, and men, need to be focused in order to achieve success in the industry.

Not a lot of men can do what I do, so maybe not a lot of women can do what I do too? I don’t think any man has achieved what I have done in such a short period of time…I hope I can be an inspiration, an example to women. But I never thought it was this massive problem, actually.” – Nicole Moudaber

Discussing the need to implement a change in thought processes globally – and recognising that these vary from culture to culture – there was no doubt that the industry needs to represent women more fairly.

If you have a diverse company, a diverse roster, you ultimately make more money. Because the world is a diverse place.” – Maria May

Let’s never use the phrase “female DJ” again – that would be great.” – B.Traits

There isn’t a “black DJ chart”. Or “blue eyes” chart. Why is there a female chart?” – Nicole Moudaber

There are plenty of women in the music industry, it’s just a hell of a lot easier to think of men.” – Lucy Blair

Dear Morni IMS Question Time followed, covering a wide array of topics such as China, festival tourism, drug deaths and publishing – each moderated by IMS partner Ben Turner.

Because of the Great Firewall, there’s almost no access to music. Facebook, Twitter, SoundCloud, even Instagram is banned in China.” – Eric Zho

Speaking of Croatia as a clubbing destination, Noah Ball of Dimensions / Outlook festivals explained its possible advantages over Ibiza, whilst Sophie Bloggs confronted the issue of artist integrity via social networking.

You can dance underneath the stars until 8 in the morning. Unfortunately, Ibiza has struggled with licensing in recent years, so Croatia does have that part of the magic.” – Noah Ball

What keeps me up at night is trying to keep up with how fast the digital market is expanding, and trying to keep up with everything for your artist – but always still keeping the message the same. The music is supposed to be at the forefront of everything.” – Sophie Bloggs

Julien Temple followed with a discussion around his plans to document the history of Ibiza in a new film, with Richie Hawtin introducing his new ENTER.Sake collection.

Closing the ninth IMS Ibiza conference was Pet Shop Boys, who divulged details of their longstanding career in the industry. Speaking of their live performance, Neil told Pete Tong:

The idea was that you could make music into a theatrical spectacle. We wanted to see what was possible with theatrics, and keep the energy level coming back all the time.”

Whilst on representing gay culture, the duo expressed,



With the talk closing curtain on the final days conference, all eyes then led to Dalt Vila – where a selection of forward-thinking artists took control of the stunning UNESCO site. Francesca Lombardo, Benjamin Damage, B Traits, Tale Of Us and Nicole Moudaber each graced the stage, with Dubfire presenting his HYBRID showcase to officially close the 2016 summit.




















Mission Statement
International Music Summit is an educational, inspirational and motivational thought leadership platform dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, electronic music, the artistry related to DJ-ing and all related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of summits and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of the genre to art and culture worldwide.


Additional info: