Showing posts with label IMS 2018. Show all posts
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22:42:00

International Music Summit (IMS), the inspirational, educational and motivational thought-leadership platform for the electronic music industry, last week delivered another insightful and inspiring schedule of powerful and at times emotional discussions on the most important issues facing the scene today, delivered by 120 artists and industry leaders.

Across 3 days IMS Ibiza welcomed 1,200 members of the global electronic music community from 48 different countries for a powerful week of reflection, positivity and progress.
IMS co-founder Pete Tong (BBC Radio 1, Broadcaster, UK) opened the 11th edition of the summit with an incredibly poignant opening tribute to Tim Bergling, otherwise known as superstar artist Avicii. Tong’s reflection on his life, his legacy and the impact of his tragic and untimely death started the summit on a somber but important note, reminding all of the importance of putting the spotlight “firmly back on our industry and the health of the DJ”, adding the powerful statement “we weren’t supposed to die chasing the dream.”


Now online there are videos of many of the sessions so definitely its worth watching them if you wish to have in-depth knowledge of what's really going on behind the scenes in the EDM industry. Hopefully more videos will be added in the coming weeks to experience the majority of the panels for those who didn't manage to be there.

Pete Tong - the most authoritative voice in electronic music - opens the IMS with a response to the tragic passing of Avicii and issues thoughts on how the industry can better deal with the stresses and strains of life in the music business.



Following on from Pioneer DJ and DJsounds’ documentary focusing on mental health and the tragic passing of Avicii, what are the issues faced by touring DJs? What are the warning signs of problems? AFEM discusses why it is time to protect the health of global artists not the wealth of global businesses…





Freedom, self-expression, inspiration. Built at the intersection of nature and art. But threatened by commercialisation and overrun by dance music; turning into a place for jet-setters and rich hippies. Are we talking about Burning Man or Ibiza? Lovers of both communities come together to explore and dissect misconceptions of two culture creators.



IMS brings together the leading figureheads of the Positiva Records label - from its inception inside EMI, to the global careers its launched, and where it stands today… Still strong, still relevant and in the steady hands of its A&R director Jason Ellis.



IMS brings together the leading members of the team for the global career of Black Coffee, with an specific focus on the second year of his Ibiza residency at Hï. Black Coffee’s career is moving at an incredible speed, so a perfect time to hear their strategic approach.



Todd “The God” Terry has seen it all - from the toughest streets of New York to international fame as one of the most successful house music producers of our time. IMS goes deep into his life and career, interviewed by IMS partner Pete Tong.



Electronic music was built by people doing things on their own terms. From Phuture birthing acid on a TB-303 to Dizzee Rascal creating grime on the Music 200 playstation game, a do-it-yourself ethos has always pushed the movement into the future. Meet five visionaries under 25 who are changing the shape of our scene and taking things forward.



Tom Middleton, founding member of Global Communication, stunned the community this year with the launch of the Sleep Better Sounds platform and psychoacoustic soundscapes album. Now a fully-trained Sleep Science Coach, he shares his wisdom on the importance of sleep and, most importantly, how to get to sleep



Bradley Gunn Raver is the viral sensation who is being invited around the world to bring his infectious, unstoppable dancing to their events. He has Asperger's syndrome, but sober raving has helped him socialise with other people. A true human interest story and inspiration to us all…



Fiona Measham returns to IMS to present The Case for drug testing at large events and clubs. Her organisation The Loop are in high-demand to increase testing at festivals and events as the world opens up to facing the reality of controlling this issue.



Young Guns Network has been providing a meeting point for young, ambitious media professionals since 2013. Following its inception, over 1,500 under-30s have joined and continue to engage with the initiative’s events, conversations and, of course, other members. IMS is delighted to present this year’s focus - Disruptors!



The fireside chat will cover the importance of community in music, and how it helps to build, establish and grow music scenes and creator communities, as shared through the experiences and perspectives of Room for Resistance (R4R). Room 4 Resistance is a Berlin-based queer femme / non-binary forward collective focused on community-building and creating safer space & visibility for underrepresented artists in Dance Music.



In recent years a world of new party destinations has matured. As Ibiza prices itself out of the market for many, we bring together the leading protagonists from Mykonos, Marrakech, Dubai, Tulum, Croatia and the Algarve in Portugal to find out the magic that is bringing thousands of new music tourists to their destinations.



Becoming a parent is traditionally perceived as a hindrance in one's career in the music business, particularly if you're a woman or an artist, in general. Our discussion aims to create more awareness in this space, remove the existing taboo around juggling family life with work and ultimately give parenthood a renewed, positive status in the workplace. A change in perception around parenthood in music will positively impact the industry ecosystem, both from a diversity as well as a commercial angle.



Electronic Music has embraced streaming like almost no other genre, yet opinion remains divided; should labels fight to protect revenue from downloads and vinyl or transform their businesses to maximise plays, in a world where purchase price is a thing of the past.  Cutting edge industry figures debate the full spectrum of business models and how the industry needs to evolve to make money from free.



The Annual Digital Debate this year brings in speakers from the artist side - managers and label heads representing the likes of Armin and Fatboy Slim. Also we welcomed Pandora and The Orchard to IMS for the first time. Always an insightful debate...



Another incredible IMS Dalt Vila event with a strong line-up and some special pairings including the debuts of many leading underground talents to this UNESCO World Heritage Site.


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:
https://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/
https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMusicSummit
https://twitter.com/imsibiza 
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01:29:00

On day three of IMS Ibiza one of the most legendary electronic brands of our time was welcomed to the stage as Enric Palau (Sónar Festival, Co-Director, Spain) Georgia Taglietti (Sónar Festival, Head of Communications, Spain) shared their story with Ben Turner. 25 YEARS OF SÓNAR – SHAPING UNDERGROUND CULTURE was a frank and revealing session covering the powerful impact of the festival on the electronic music scene and culminated with the announcement that Sónar would receive the 2018 Pioneer DJ Award.

Celebrating another milestone 25 YEARS OF POSITIVA RECORDS – THE CHANGING FACE OF A&R bought together two of the leading figureheads of the label recalled fond memories of the inception of the label and underlined why the label is so strong and relevant. Jason Ellis (Positiva/Virgin Records, A&R Director: 2008-present, UK) and Nick Halkes (Positiva/EMI Dance, Founder/Managing Director:1993-1999) highlighted the incredible back catalogue and string of anthems that sound tracked the heyday and the hedonism of Ibiza through the ’90s and the many that went on to crossover to be huge chart hits, including Shapeshifters’ ‘Lola’s Theme’ and David Guetta’s ‘When Love Takes Over’.



Dean Wilson (SEVEN20, CEO, USA) one of the most successful and most respected artist managers in the electronic music business, co-founder of ThreeSixZero, long-term manager of deadmau5, and now representing his new company, Seven20 Management sat with Pete Tong and pinpointed the ups and down of discovering new talent, his not so easy move to the US in 2011, along with the progression of megastar Calvin Harris.  Wilson also talked honestly about the motives behind his company partnering with Live Nation / Roc Nation ‘We knew we needed help, no one would answer our calls, no one would answer our calls. We didn’t really understand the US market’.
Joining the conversation from via live steam from his home studio was Deadmau5 (Artist, Canada). Animated, engaging and of course disruptive, stating “I’m really happy where I’m at right now. I’m kind of in the middle. “I’ve pissed enough people off that I’ll never be right at the top and I’m worth enough money that I’ll never be at the bottom”. Zimmerman also covered his experiences with major labels, “‘EMI was a funny relationship’”, as well as his future plans and his new video game venture.
The artistic and cultural impact of Burning Man was examined in BLACK ROCK CITY x IBIZA: CULTURAL OPPOSITES OR KINDRED SPIRITS. Seth Troxler (Artist, USA) recalled how it took the full experience of Black Rock City to capture his love, “People dragged me to Burning Man and I hated it. Then the sun came up and I couldn’t stop smiling.” Adding the full panel’s outlook that Burning Man really is a city and community, Dominique Debucquoy-Dodley (Burning Man Project, Communications Manager, USA) confirmed that for those attending it profoundly changes their way of thinking and attitude to life. The panel ended on a powerful quote from Ed Karney, manager of Seth Troxler who passionately spoke on the need to bring the focus of Ibiza away from VIP culture and back to the people that love electronic music, noting “if you don’t look at where the kids are coming from all of this will fizzle off into a bunch of middle aged people like myself, who are kind of looking back thinking, what happened?

This community thread was echoed in THE ANNUAL IBIZA DEBATE which focused on how to keep the scene moving forward whilst maintaining a focus on sustainability and impact on the island

Becoming a parent is traditionally perceived as a hindrance in one’s career in the music business, particularly if you’re a woman or an artist, in general. The open discussion PRACTICAL PARENTING – HOSTED BY SHESAID.SO talked about creating more awareness in this space and juggling family life, Hosted by Andreea Magdalina (Shesaid.so, Founder, USA) the discussion highlighted struggles from artist managers and artist themselves, including La Fleur who commented, “I toured until I was 7 months pregnant. I wanted to wait for the right time in my career but I realised that there was never going to be a right time. Now, I think I’m more ahead of my career than I was back then.”

Also on day three Declan McGlynn (Point Blank, Music Journalist, UK) hosted Andrea Oliva (Artist, Switzerland) for a DJ Skills masterclass, “I like it to be chaotic. Chaos causes creativity.” said the ANTS resident before delivering insight into his unique approach to DJing and performing to a live crowd.

This year see’s BURN Residency evolve into a 9-month programme that provides 10 emerging DJs opportunities to build their careers outside of their home country. In partnership with DJ Mag, BURN Residency hosted a discussion on HOW TO BECOME AN INTERNATIONAL TOURING DJ. Loco Dice (Artist, Germany) recommended, “Never stop dreaming, dreams come true. I had a dream and it came true” focus from the full panel was very much on true life balance and surrounding yourself with positivity. Nastia (Artist, Ukraine) talked frankly about her rise as a global name, family life and how true balance relies on making the right priorities

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01:16:00

The South African flag was waved on day two of IMS Ibiza with MEET TEAM BLACK COFFEE. From management to agent to Ibiza promoter, the team behind Hi Ibiza resident Black Coffee took to the stage, Lionel Marciano (Black Coffee International Manager, USA) and Amaru Da Costa (Black Coffee, African Manager, South Africa) lead the story of success of the DJ/Producer “a guy so ready to work, so committed, so disciplined, so reliable, with such great work ethic” The team explored his roots, the helping hand to his first DC10 gig from Seth Troxler and his vision for artists to own their own music, via their own platforms rather than labels, with Black Coffee (Artist, South Africa) stating “where/who are you marketing too when everybody is following me?”

One of the biggest audiences of the day was undoubtedly awarded to viral sensation BRADLEY GUNN RAVER who used the spotlight as a candid opportunity to share how he has broken down the barriers of living with Asperger’s Syndrome through his love of electronic music. Bradley’s keynote with Nick DeCosemo (Mixmag, Global Editorial Director, UK) was streamed live across Facebook to his rapidly growing fanbase that have closely followed his journey to fame. “I’ve got this saying ‘Love Life and Rave’. I live it, it simply means what it says, to go out and love your life and rave” he proudly declared before giving the crowd a short preview of his new track, finishing his inspiring keynote to a standing ovation from the room.
Moving onto one of the most principal topics of the day, Fiona Measham (Durham University Professor of Criminology/The Loop Director, UK), Freddie Fellowes (Secret Garden Party, Promoter, UK) and Jon Drape (Broadwick Live, Group Production Director, UK) discussed the vital importance of drug testing within our dance community in THE CASE FOR: DRUG TESTING AT EVENTS.  Hosted by moderator Mark Lawrence (AFEM: Association for Electronic Music, CEO, UK) the clear conclusive message was that The Loop advocated a harm reduction service that is vital in the current climate of rave culture if we are to avoid further fatalities. Measham commented, “In the UK we have the highest drug fatality rate in Europe” as zero tolerance policy has proved ineffective over the years. “We need to readdress our approach to drugs,” said Fellowes “human beings have been taking drugs as long as they’ve been human beings. What we need to is actually encourage a more healthy relationship with drugs.”
Blaise James (Remedy State, Co-Founder, USA) and Ben Turner (Remedy State, Co-Founder, USA) reflected deeply on the success of the first REMEDY STATE retreat which took place immediately prior to IMS Ibiza, an essential space for music industry professionals to decompress and balance before the hectic summer work schedule begins. Turner commented “when we started IMS Ibiza 11 years ago we were talking about the validity of the DJ Mag Top 100, now we’re talking about anxiety, mental health and drug safety”, underpinning the importance and relevance of the new retreat.



GIVE IT AWAY OR MAKE IT PAY proved to divide opinion and provide exciting debate as the leading managers, label heads and representatives questioned if labels should fight to protect revenue or transform their businesses to maximise plays, in a world where purchase price is a thing of the past.; “Vinyl forged more of a community. It was a time when people spoke and created friendships over music” commented Dean Wilson (Seven20, CEO, USA) as the full spectrum of business models made the discussion alongside the various platforms of recorded music.

With an increase in festivals comes the need to find new locations as the electronic music industry seeks to accommodate pleasure seekers outside the confines of the club. This is a never-ending quest as event organisers struggle to put on parties in new and exciting locations – fighting political obstructions along the way whilst being sensitive to associated environmental impact of their events. IMS Ibiza gathered some international promoters to discuss the topic more in EMERGING PARTY DESTINATIONS.  
“It got quite frustrating that we were growing artists and then losing them to bigger parties. A friend of mine mentioned Croatia and we started a new festival with The Warehouse Project, called Hideout. The venues were already there but in competition with each other. We walked in and said we will bring 5,000 people from the U.K and they were like…. Really?” observed Mark Newton (Broadwick Live, Director, UK) .
Young Guns Network, a meeting point for young, ambitious media and music professionals, provided a unique focus on the next generating making waves in our industry. In DISRUPTORS, NO RULES, moderated by Cherie Hu (Billboard/Forbes, Tech Columnist, USA), the showcase of impressive and inspiring talent including IMS x Mixmag Visionaires winner Inder Phull (KRPT, Founder/CEO, UK), Lauren Pavan (GRM Daily, COO, UK) and Mich Mellard (Sync Sync, Founder, UK) mused over the various ways company culture is currently breaking down the boundaries of tradition, with Pavan noting “Don’t overlook somebody’s opinion because of their job title.”. The discussion also covered the lack and need for more mentoring within electronic music and how the passion for the music we love can be continually nurtured via new innovative sources.

elrow’s Vicenc Marti (Elrow, President and Board Member, Spain) and Julien Lesaicherre (Workplace by Facebook, Director EMEA, UK) took to the stage to talk the crowd step by step through the various ways the new Workplace by Facebook social platform has transformed their communications both internally and externally and bought to life how the platform allows the creative, open minded ethos of the brand to collaborate across the entire global team. 

Also on day 2 of IMS, Pierce Warnecke (Berklee College of Music, Assistant Professor, Spain) treated us to an audio/visual showcase in REAL-TIME VIDEO SYNTHESIS; the team behind one of the most unique and exciting of streaming platforms discussed the secrets behind the unique algorithm of the platform in SEQUENCING THE GENOME: HOW TO GET YOUR MUSIC HEARD ON PANDORA; Tim Heineke (I am Pop, Founder, Netherlands), one of the leading experts in Messenger discussed how to build new experiences on chat in MESSENGER/BOTS 101; and UK collecting society PRS FOR MUSIC represented by Ashley Howard (PRS For Music, Dance Account Manager, UK) and AFEM’s Gregg Marshall shared insight on how our continued curiosity of music discovery can ensure rights are paid using music recognition technology.

Day two closed with 15 YEARS OF TOOLROOM RECORDS – INSPIRATION & INDEPENDENCE, where brothers Mark Knight (Artist, UK) and Stuart Knight (Toolroom, Managing Director, UK) reflected on building their hugely successful label whilst fiercely remaining independent, with Stuart noting “We don’t want to focus on being underground or commercial – how about credible?” with the panel closing with an invaluable A&R feedback session for the assembled delegates from Mark Knight and the Toolroom team.

Additional info:
https://www.internationalmusicsummit.com/
https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMusicSummit
https://twitter.com/IMSibiza

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01:03:00

During the second day of the 2018 International Music Summit held annually in Ibiza, viral dance music sensation Bradley Gunn Raver unveiled his debut track and accompanying teaser video.

Invited around the world to bring his infectious, unstoppable dancing to events, Bradley has over the last two years broken down the barriers of living with Asperger’s Syndrome and today delivered his inspirational story to the conference detailing how sober raving has helped him socialise with other people. Bradley’s keynote with Mixmag’s Global Editor Nick DeCosemo was also streamed live across Facebook to his rapidly growing 57K fans who have closely followed his journey to fame.
“Dancing gave me the ability to socialise with people better. I grew in confidence and that has spread to other areas of life…”
A software developer by day, Bradley is a regular attendee at global dance music festivals and has an ever growing fanbase. A true human-interest story, Bradley quickly caught the attention of underground music’s biggest stars including Carl Cox and Seth Troxler along with being crowned Mixmag Magazine’s ‘Raver Of The Year’ in 2017.
“I concentrate on the positivity and feed my mind on it so you have a better view on everything and end up feeling better all the time”
Revealing the details of his debut track which Bradley has written the lyrics for, ‘Love Life and Rave’ has been produced alongside close friend and one of the UK’s most promising electronic artists, Phutek. The lyrics have been written to be universally appealing to clubbers/ravers from all walks of life; extracting the inside emotions and feelings by broadcasting them through the speakers. Not only are the lyrics designed to appeal to those on the dancefloor, but they are also aimed to send a message to those on the outside, who may not be familiar with rave culture.



Bradley also aired the teaser trailer to the conference describing how he wanted to further spread his message to love life and rave.
“I really want to get this message out there more, so I thought it would be amazing if I could have this incorporated into a track. I said to my good friend DJ Phutek who is a producer, I really like your stuff and I want to make this track ‘Love Life and Rave’ to get this message put out there”


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00:49:00

IMS Ibiza 2018 kicked off the eleventh edition of the summit with a day of important discussions and positive thinking, starting with an emotional and incredibly poignant tribute from IMS Co-Founder Pete Tong MBE to Tim Bergling, otherwise known as global superstar Avicii. He reflected on the life of the man behind the brand, his impact, his legacy and the importance of self-care for all.

“Few will ever be that young and that talented, making the right music”, said Tong, emphasising the tragic early death of Avicii has put the spotlight firmly back on our industry, forcing us to focus on the health of the DJ. “It was supposed to be fun, we weren’t supposed to die chasing the dream. “Tong stated “Our industry needs healing, and people want to be healed”.

This led meaningfully into the first panel discussion and possibly one of the most important of the summit ‘SAFE FROM HARM – OUR DUTY OF CARE’.  In this session Christine Brown (Help Musicians UK, Director Of External Affairs & Business Development, UK) highlighted a recent study commissioned Help Musicians UK, entitled ‘Can music make you sick?,’ that worryingly discovered that musicians may be up to three times more likely to suffer from mental illness than the general public. It identified the “clear need for help” and was the catalyst for the new UK based helpline for musicians needing mental health support.
BBC Radio 1’s Danny Howard and Pete Tong shared some of the issues they had faced in their careers, with Danny noting “when you first do it, it’s exciting and you want to have a party every night, hang out with the promoter and be the party boy. Looking back, you need to learn when to say ‘no’ and draw a line”. 
Tong echoed this sentiment when reflecting on the current DJ mentality and mind set, with performers   become “addicted to the cycle. Being a DJ is like being a stage actor and ego is a big part of this. I want to stay up with it so I have to keep going’. It’s a relentless cycle.”



The assembled industry experts agreed that the role of the manager is paramount in helping artists to find that all important balance and to provide a vital support role, Matthew Stuart (ATC Management, Artist Manager, UK) recalled his own personal experiences of managing artist Ben Pearce, who has publicly shared his own challenges with mental health. Stuart noted “It was only when I went to his (Ben Pearce) house and saw him that I realised that this is a person who needs help”. 

Then came the turn of the much-anticipated annual business report, presented by Kevin Watson (Author of IMS Business Report, UK) who revealed statistics that pointed to a slowdown in the global electronic music industry value, observed for the first time in recent years. “Overall, electronic music industry global value is down 2% year on year to $7.3bn and the value of integration into mainstream culture is immeasurable”, illustrating that electronic music has changed the influenced beyond the genre into pop and R&B .

IMS Ibiza has never been afraid to bring important issues into the spotlight even if the subject matter is difficult to confront.  Day one of the summit witnesses a frank and open discussion on the issue of sexual harassment in dance music and what can be done to tackle it. Carl Loben (Editor-in-chief, DJ Mag) recognised it is an “incredibly male dominated industry” but the panel consensus was we are seeing a shift as more women are now in prominent positions into every part of the industry and it’s the responsibility of all to call out and put a stop to uncomfortable and unwanted situations. Honey Dijon (Artist, USA) put it simply “It’s a culture responsibility. We’re in 2018…and we’re still at square one on this subject.”  Panel moderator Kate Hutchinson (The Guardian, Journalist, UK) asked “What is it going to take for Electronic Music to have its own movement on Sexual Harassment? Is it going to take a high-profile artist speaking out like Benga did for Mental Health for us to really start the conversation?”-

The attention of the day then turned to Blockchain. In THE SCEPTICS GUIDE TO BELIEVING IN BLOCKCHAIN FOR MUSIC AND MEDIA, Benji Rogers (dotBlockchain Media, CEO & Co-Founder, USA) dissected and explained this  emerging technology stating that “You only have to say you’re a Blockchain company in the Bay Area right now and you’ll receive a multi-million dollar investment”. In the follow on session BLOCKCHAIN 101 the panel gave an essential guide for anyone wanting to learn more on this complicated subject, but acknowledged no-one can predict if this current boom will continue, especially considering the environmental impact of storing blockchain data “I wouldn’t be surprised if streaming is a flash in the pan and in 12 years’ time we’re sitting here on this stage and wondering what went wrong?” Alexander Holland (Deezer, Chief Content and Product Officer, France)
Maykel Piron (Armada Music, Co-Founder/CEO, Netherlands) gave a fascinating insight into the inner workings of his hugely successful record label in 15 YEARS OF ARMADA RECORDS – SAILING INTO THE FUTURE. The secret of his success? “Do everything from the heart with your own vision and your own passion and it will work. Don’t copy or try and replicate anything or anyone”. 
Robbie Murch (Identification of Music Group, Director, UK) was announced as the successful applicant for the 2018 edition of IMS x Mixmag Visionaries, joining a panel of fresh new talent shaping our industry in MIXMAG’S 5 UNDER 25.  Featuring Mixmag’s own Jaguar Bingham, Caroline Simionescu-Marin (XL Recordings/New Gen, A&R Manager/Founder, UK) the panel favoured radio as a platform to share stories and break new music, T. Jay Jay Revlon (DJ, Host and Cultural Events Curator, UK) spoke about his efforts to make the gay scene in London a “safe space” as “his people didn’t feel comfortable spaces that were currently in place, so he created new ones”. All of the lineup called for change in the industry, wanting to see more young artists being booked, more women in senior positions within the industry and to safeguard and protect women in the scene. 

In HOW TO SLEEP BETTER, Tom Middleton (Sound Architect/Designer, Psychoacoustics R&D, UK) had the room on their feet in an energetic and engaging session, delivering a fast paced and fascinating insight to the world of sleep, a pastime we surprisingly only average for 6.5 hours from 24. Tom informed the audience that depriving our body of this ritual leaves a surprisingly devastating impact and is linked heavily with mood instability and anxiety. He however equipped the audience with breathing techniques and tips to make sleep better, instructing us to “make the bedroom a sleep sanctuary”.
In the final hours, a much-anticipated interview with Todd ‘The God’ Terry (DJ/Producer, USA) led by Pete Tong (BBC Radio 1/IMS, Artist, UK) rounded off an exciting day in the IMS Summit Suite. A funny, warm and engaging interview subject, he had delegates enthralled with stories from his days back in NYC “We were sampling anything back in the day, just to change the records up” and his experience with none other than the Thin White Duke himself "I sent the track to David Bowie, he was like "This is a disgrace. You chopped up my vocals…I was like... Yo! Dave, chill! Do you know what I do? The kids wanna hear vocals and a hard beat!"
IMS Ibiza then moved to the Hard Rock Hotel rooftop and an alfresco sunset rooftop live stream hosted by DJ Mag and featuring house music legend David Morales.

Leading onto the night’s main attraction continuing into the early hours, the IMS Legends Dinner in Honour of Underworld, the genre defining iconic electronic music act, hosted on leading island venue Heart Ibiza, an exceptional high octane event and hot ticket of the summit. The band later performed a one off special intimate live performance to an excited and hyped up crowd, who partied late into the night with special guest artists Sven Vath, Pete Tong and Mark Knight.

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00:03:00

Pete Tong MBE spoke emotionally about the death of DJ and friend Avicii at the 11th edition of the annual International Music Summit (IMS) held in Ibiza.

Tong gave his key note speech to start day one of the three day summit and made delivered a poignant talk on the importance of looking after the mental health of artists in the music industry.



His full transcript is below:

IMS Opening May 2018:

Pete Tong

A month ago on Friday 20th April the world was stunned at the news that Tim Bergling / Avicii had died.

A few days later his family released a statement indicating that he had taken his own life.

How could this have come to be?

How could Tim, one of the most talented and successful artists of his generation go from making music in his bedroom in 2008 to taking his own life in a hotel room in 2018.

I believe we can find some of the answers, when we examine what it’s like to be a successful DJ/Artist/Producer and relentless globetrotting live performer in the present day.

From the start Tim was clearly a very special talent. His innate sense of melody, combined with his gift for arrangement and production set him apart, but what was truly unique about Tim in 2008/9 was that he was so young. He was the first teenager of the EDM era to make music inspired by his piers and then join them all within a matter of 12 months.

The warp factor speed of his breakthrough fueled by the adrenalin rush and global connectivity of social media ensured that Tim’s feet never touched the ground. 

By the time his track 'BROMANCE' hit, his contemporaries in dance music’s mainstream were the likes of David Guetta, Tiesto,The Swedish House Mafia, Armin Van Burren, Above & Beyond, Steve Aoki & Paul Van Dyk.

All of these artists had been in the game for at least 10 years, they had done the proverbial 10,000 hours and they had honed their skills and managed to work out a modus operandi, as their popularity grew and their diaries filled. They were certainly more prepared for what was about to happen to them over the next 5 years, than Tim. 



Tim had no training, there was no apprenticeship.
He’d not even had a proper job.
Some of you here today have seen his documentary TRUE STORIES. 
Whether its all entirely true or edited in a certain way - the journey and the results are pretty harrowing, particularly now that he’s not with us anymore.
For those that haven’t seen it…

The first few years are pretty straightforward. 
You travel around the world at an insane pace. You collect all the money, You lap up the adulation and drink the free champaign and everything else that goes with it.

After a couple of years the anxiety builds as the schedule and demands get more and more intense. The entourage grows and there are now vast numbers of people and companies relying on your business. The bar is constantly being raised.

You now rely on the alcohol, the drugs and the pills, just to get you through each day.
Your tired, constantly tired and sick but you can’t stop. 

It’s particularly daunting to watch - just how many times - he asked those around him - if he could stop and cancel shows. Most of the time he was told he couldn’t as there was too much at stake.

In Tim’s case his body did start to breakdown and after multiple medical interventions his health deteriorated to such a point that he announced his retirement in 2016. His last show was here in Ibiza at Ushuaïa at the end of that summer.

Last year Tim slowly started to release music again and when I interviewed him for Radio 1 he seemed in a really good place and talked with real passion about how making music, not touring, was what really mattered to him.

We might never know what happened in the end, what led him to taking his own life. What demons he was still dealing with or how much the anxiety played its part. 

His family called him a seeker - “a fragile artistic soul searching for questions - when he stopped touring he wanted to find balance in life, to be happy and to be able to do what he loved most - making music. He could not go on any longer, he wanted to find peace.”

Tim’s story is unique - its the perfect storm - in the sense that few will ever be that young and that talented, making the right music, at precisely the time when a world wide musical movement is about to explode, coinciding with - precisely the time - when social media was changing all the metrics on communication and having direct access to your fans. 



Given they way it turned out I hope we never see it again - BUT his death has put the spotlight firmly back on our profession - The Life of a DJ .

For those of you who have either attended or followed the IMS on line - you will know that the subject of mental health has been on our agenda for many years. 

Artists and DJ’s have begun to open up and talk publicly about the issues and their personal experiences. 

In 2016 Eric Morillo gave us a very candid interview about his decent into drug abuse and near death to cope with the fear of failure and a decline in his popularity.

Last year in 2017 we hosted the launch of the Pioneer funded DJ Sounds documentary - WHY WE DJ - Slaves To The Rhythm - which we have just shown again this morning, where many familiar faces talk about life on the road - the loneliness, the anxiety, the depression, the ego. 

One of the recurring themes that comes up - is that DJ’s feel stupid or ashamed to complain.


I used to liken being a DJ, to that of a lone stage actor, in the same play, night after night - but I have recalibrated that. Its more often being like a court jester at a medieval feast.

As Moby (who’s ten years sober) said in his recent Lefsetz podcast - even without the drugs and alcohol touring is unhealthy. If your a musician on tour you do your gig get on the bus and leave and even if there is a certain amount of degenerate behaviour its got nothing compared to the life of a celebrity DJ with private planes/Ibiza/Las Vegas and palatial hotel suits. You do your show and normally its back to the room for endless partying which is great to a point but so corrosive and destructive. 

For most  - the reality is very different - the constant lack of sleep - the airports - the flights - your exotic tourist experiences are often limited to the view from the back of a cab.

Most DJ’s will go will go though their whole career having to play clubs and festivals to make a living. It’s only the select few that will make money when there asleep through the success of their music. 

In the underground world - endurance is king (or queen). 

Marathon sets until sunrise and then almost certainly onto the after party… and if you really want the gold star, another one after that. In Ibiza you could be doing that for 20 weeks a season. It's no wonder that a DJ’s musical output suffers when they have this kind of schedule. You need special forces training and an iron will to survive multiple seasons in ibiza - and after ibiza there is always another summer, somewhere else in the world - so you have do it all over again.

The downside of this cycle can be seen in Luciano’s heartfelt post on facebook a few weeks ago, lamenting Avicii’s passing and sharing his own harrowing experiences which led to near death in pursuit of the job, pulled out of a plane when his heart was about to stop. He talks about the recurring themes of loneliness and anxiety in hotel rooms after playing to 1000’s, the illness that touring generates, where in his case the only way to survive was to self medicate. Pills to wake up and pills to sleep. Hurting himself and others around him, ego out of control. ALONE. 

He said if your 17 and join a top football team you have all the other players and coaches and management to prepare you for the pressure, money, travel and fame that might follow. 
As a DJ he felt he was often completely alone.



No one prepared him for this life. No one warned him. There wasn’t a manual.
  
Luciano also revealed in the post - that he was celebrating 1 year sober since that incident.
He doesn’t blame the industry, he says ultimately the individual has to take responsibility.

He accepted he had a disease and when we are sick we normally go to the doctor for help but in the DJ world it's just not spoken about.

Being a DJ doesn’t make you an addict but if you have those issues its a huge challenge. 
In recovery they talk about changing the people places and things that trigger your use.
If your a DJ that means you really shouldn’t be hanging out in clubs but if your life and family depend on it, if you have a mortgage, school fee’s and bills to pay you don’t really have a choice.

You have to go back - and try to do it sober - often creating greater anxiety. Its a very unique and challenging scenario.

Luciano couldn’t at first understand why you would want to go out if you could couldn’t drink and get high but he’s learnt that he had a job to do, a great job and that every show doesn’t have to be a party (for him anyway). After six months clean he also re discovered that the reason he used to go out was to laugh and share and enjoy the music. He can do without the bullshit. When the bullshit starts he just goes home.

In my 40 years of being around this world I can’t think of a single person who’s achieved success who hasn’t paid a personal price via health, relationships, divorce, broken homes, addiction, depression and anxiety. The statistics don’t lie this is a tough business.

For years we’ve laughed and immortalised the hedonism of our world via books magazines and films like BERLIN CALLING & ALL GONE PETE TONG. It was supposed to be fun.

10 years ago when we started IMS all the talk was about how electronic dance music was going to break in America and conquer the world. To a large extent that all happened and is still happening… but people were not supposed to die chasing the dream

I don’t come here today to say the party’s over - but this is a wake up call to ALL those involved, to start looking around and see who might need help 

In the past few months the IMS and the AFEM has been approached by more ands more people behind the scene’s - the managers, tour managers, promoters and music executives all feeling the strain of the life style and seeking advice.

IMS, thanks to the work of Ben Turner and Blaise D’Angelo have just completed the first Remedy State wellness retreat here in Ibiza. Designed specifically for people in the entertainment industry. It’s success proves that our industry needs healing, and that people want to be healed.

What I hope for and encourage during the next few days at the IMS and beyond - is that we get more of these issues out in the open and that the DJ’s and those around them feel less shame and more encouraged to speak up and seek help when they are struggling. 

The more we can share our experiences and educate the more we can help those suffering in silence.

The wider music community have organizations like Music Cares & Help Musicians to reach out to in times of struggle.

I ask - Is its time to establish a support group or fellowship for those in the electronic music industry ?

In memory of Avicii  - 
That is something to talk about. 

Thank you 

  


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23:43:00

International Music Summit  released the annual IMS Business Report, an in-depth economic study of the Electronic Music Industry, covering all aspects of the genre. Today it was delivered directly to the key leaders in the music industry at IMS Ibiza by author Kevin Watson.

The IMS Business Report is the annual leading industry study that provides vital and telling statistics of how the industry has grown or declined each year. The contents and data are used by professionals across the industry, referenced countless times in market research and journalistic reports, and is an essential tool for the electronic music business.

The following report illustrates some shifts in the overall value of the genre with a slight fall by 2% YoY, encouraging statistics and activations for Spotify, how social networks are helping artist to grow their fanbases at extraordinary rates and how investment is remaining positive overall.

Some of the main points that were revealed today included:

North America:

Overall N.A. recorded music revenue grew 12.8% in 2017, but Dance/Electronic share in the USA & Canada fell YoY

Part of this was the crossover of many tracks by electronic djs and artsist into other genres such as pop and R&B.

Plus an adjustment was somewhat expected following recent growth so slight dip was expected.

Europe:

Dance share of recorded music also fell in Germany & UK in 2017, on the back of significant gains in prior years

Europe is a similar story electronic music share down YoY.

Asia:

A Nielsen study into music habits in Asia-Pacific found that Koreans are most likely to listen to Dance music.

In Asia recorded music is growing with 74% of the 500 people surveyed saying they listen to Dance Music.

Music Sync:

Electronic music can benefit from sync revenue growth (7% pa since 2013), partially driven by Netflix & Amazon.

YoY growth in sync, likely driven by Netflix and Amazon spending on original content.

Spotify:

Business valued at $28bn, subs forecast to double by 2020; Electronic music over indexes on the platform.

71 Million people worldwide subscribed and electronic music is at the heart of this streaming platform. The ‘Mint’ playlist greatly influencing this with 6th most popular playlist. The 3rd / 4th most streamed tracks on Spotify also are electronic music related.

Beatport:

Track sales growth almost doubled in 2017 and acquisition of Pulselocker enables launch of new services in 2018/19.

A fresh resurgence from Beatport – with growth of 8pc in Q1 and the introduction of the much anticipated future streaming service.

Forbes:

Estimated DJ Earnings rebounded in 2017, rising c.10% YoY; Calvin Harris down to $49m, Tiesto up to $39m.

The estimation of the highest earning djs - this year up to 279 million, most DJs earning more than year before.

Merchandise:

DJs are tapping into the rising demand for music merchandise; global sales grew by 30% between 2014 and 2016.

Merchandise helping to fuel DJs growth in earnings including brand collaborations. With electronic music events alos partnering with brands.

DJ Rankings:

Role of public votes is changing – RA Poll has ceased, Billboard Dance 100 also uses chart and touring data in its algorithms. DJ Mag also gets upward of 1 million votes per year and Billboard doing there own poll which includes chart success and touring.

Instagram:

Social network has just announced Spotify & Eventbrite integrations; Top 10 DJs now adding 50k followers a week.

The growth drivers can be attributed to two elements from Instagram. Instagram is now the focus of djs to increase their fanbase especially with the new activation of Spotify linking directly to Instagram stories.

You can also buy tickets for events from Instagram through eventbrite - this is a huge development and other ticketing platforms could come on board to instagram.

Online Fanbases:

Most popular DJs are continuing to focus on growing their fanbases on Instagram, YouTube and Spotify.

Marshmello has added 2 million Spotify followers within the past 12 months.

A number of emerging DJs & artists are growing their online fanbases on those platforms at even higher rates.

Festivals:

Worldwide expansion continues – China events expected to double in 2018, Ultra launched 23 new events in 2017.

Festivals continue to grow outside the core markets of North America and Europe. China showing extraordinary expansion led by Storm Festival.

Ultra adding 23 new events around the world making 45 in total.

Ultra Worldwide:

Attendance of 1m+ at 45 events in 20 different countries puts Ultra on par with the attendance of The Winter Olympics & Formula 1

Ultra operate in the same number of countries that f1 visits and is now one of the few entertainment brands that can deliver large scale events across the globe akin to properties such as formula 1.

Sonar:

Events now attract 124k attendees & 700+ artists a year, who represent over a third of the countries in the world.

25th anniversary this year.

Boiler Room:

In the 5 years to 2017 Boiler Room has grown its audience from 10m to 303m, and nearly tripled average viewing time.       

We don't have to be physically at an event to enjoy to enjoy it or take part in it.
Number of events doubled, but what they have delivered in terms of audience growth is phenomenal growing to 30 x the audience to 303 million.

BE-AT.TV

Top 10 locations on BE-AT.TV are from four continents, with Argentina, Germany & Mexico the most popular.

Argentina now being the most popular location to stream events.

M&A:

Spinnin Records acquisition by Warner for $100m is the 3rd largest Electronic Music deal in the past six years

Their YouTube channel has racked up almost 13 billion views and continues the trend of majors buying electronic music labels.

Investment:

Funding remains strong for companies focused on Electronic music, with a number of deals in the past year.

Native Instruments, Mixcloud and Splice have attracted 100 Million US dollars between them.

Hardware & Software:

Pioneer DJ & Native Instruments sales continue to rise; music production software market to grow at 9% pa.

Industry Value:

Overall Electronic Music industry down 2% YoY to $7.3bn; value of integration into mainstream culture immeasurable.

With the influence of electronic music impacting on many other pop culture musical genres. Not surprise that there has been a bit of an adjustment after such growth. Thinking 5 years ahead what would it be worth.

Industry Value:

If Electronic Music maintains share in each segment of the music industry, it could be worth nearly $9bn by 2021.

Additional info:
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18:46:00

International Music Summit (IMS), the three-day inspirational, educational and motivational thought-leadership platform held annually in Ibiza today announce full details of the summit; dynamic workshops, illuminating keynotes and timely discussions on the most important issues facing the electronic music industry today, led by 120+ leading electronic music artists and professionals.



In homage to the recent tragic loss of one of electronic music’s brightest young stars the summit will open with a keynote address IN MEMORY OF AVICII delivered by IMS co-founder PETE TONG (BBC Radio 1, Broadcaster, UK), directly followed by SAFE FROM HARM – OUR DUTY OF CARE, a debate hosted by the ASSOCIATION FOR ELECTRONIC MUSIC where key industry figures will discuss why it is time to protect the health of global artists and not the wealth of global businesses.



Other highlights from day one include the annual IMS BUSINESS REPORT, presenting the facts, figures and trends that matter the most in the industry plus the highly anticipated value of the electronic music industry, a figure always the focus of global media attention. Following this HONEY DIJON joins representatives from DJ MAG, AFEM and more to discuss SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN DJ CULTURE – HOSTED BY SHESAID.SO, an important debate exploring solutions to tackle this behaviour and to bring about fundamental change in dance music relating to diversity and inclusion. THE ANNUAL DIGITAL DEBATE assembles some of the brightest industry minds to assess the current digital landscape followed by BELIEVING IN BLOCKCHAIN and BLOCKCHAIN 101, essential viewing for anyone wishing to gain a deeper understanding of this new technology and the backbone for cryptocurrencies worth hundreds of billions; 15 YEARS OF ARMADA MUSIC provides a rare insight into one of the most successful and innovative labels in dance music from its co-founder and CEO; MIXMAG’S 5 UNDER 25 shines a light on the visionaries changing the shape of our scene and taking dance music forward. Not to be missed on day one is a KEYNOTE INTERVIEW from TODD ‘THE GOD’ TERRY, one of the most successful house music producers of our time, who will go deep into his journey from the toughest streets of New York to international fame.



Day two of IMS Ibiza presents further unmissable sessions including THE CASE FOR: DRUG TESTING AT EVENTS - HOSTED BY THE LOOP, examining how drug testing impacts on harm reduction at large scale events. A KEYNOTE INTERVIEW with viral sensation BRADLEY GUNN RAVER will inspire all as he shares his story of how sober raving has led him to be invited around the world to bring his infectious, joyful dancing to global events. EMERGING PARTY DESTINATIONS brings together leading protagonists from Mykonos, Marrakech, Dubai, Tulum, Croatia and the Algarve in Portugal to find out the magic that is bringing thousands of new music tourists to their destinations. GIVE IT AWAY OR MAKE IT PAY assembles cutting edge industry figures to debate the full spectrum of business models and how the industry needs to evolve in a world where purchase price is a thing of the past. In MEET TEAM BLACK COFFEE the artist himself will be joined by leading members of his global team to reflect on his Ibiza residency at Hï Ibiza as it enters its second year and their strategic approach for the next phase of his career.

An exciting new addition to the schedule on day two is FIRST ON SOUNDCLOUD: CELEBRATING INCLUSION, DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY IN ELECTRONIC MUSIC, an intimate discussion covering the importance of community in music and creator communities, as shared through the experiences of Room for Resistance (R4R), a Berlin-based queer femme/non-binary forward collective focused on community-building and creating safer space & visibility for underrepresented artists in Dance Music.

Day two comes to a close with two sessions celebrating milestone achievements for two UK labels at the top of their game; 15 YEARS OF TOOLROOM RECORDS - INSPIRATION & INDEPENDENCE and 25 YEARS OF RAM RECORDS – DEFINING DRUM & BASS.

The final day of IMS plays host to BLACK ROCK CITY x IBIZA: CULTURAL OPPOSITES OR KINDRED SPIRITS, where lovers of both communities come together to explore and dissect misinterpretations of two culture creators, followed by THE ANNUAL IBIZA DEBATE, a discussion that never fails to spark passionate responses. Day three of the summit brings further milestone celebrations for legendary electronic music brands, with 25 YEARS OF SONAR - SHAPING UNDERGROUND CULTURE and 25 YEARS OF POSITIVA RECORDS - THE CHANGING FACE OF A&R.

Juggling the demands of a career in the music business with family and home life is the focus of PRACTICAL PARENTING on day three, hosted by SHESAID.SO, a session not to be missed for anyone balancing these elements of their life and looking for support and guidance on how to thrive in both the professional and personal worlds.



Ending the final day is a KEYNOTE INTERVIEW with one of the most successful and respected artist managers in the electronic music business DEAN WILSON, who will be followed by a closing KEYNOTE INTERVIEW live from the recording studio of Joel Zimmerman aka DEADMAU5 and TESTPILOT, an outspoken and visionary artist who will take part in a revealing discussion on all aspects of the past, present and future of his career.



The 11th edition of IMS is set to be one of the strongest years of the summit, with three days of the best electronic music content and networking available to delegates, daily influencer breakfasts at TATEL RESTAURANT, free YOGA & WELLNESS sessions, access to over 20 NETWORKING EVENTS and IBIZA OPENING PARTIES plus the IMS LEGENDS DINNER paying tribute to UNDERWORLD and featuring an exclusive live show at HEART IBIZA and the ultimate Ibiza party under the stars at IMS DALT VILA. 

All Access and Delegate Plus badges are now sold out, limited Delegate badges remain at www.internationalmusicsummit.com

Full list of 28 new speakers announced are:
Andy C (Ram Records, Founder/Artist/DJ, UK)
Avril Ceballos (Futura Artist/Cómeme/Room 4 Resistance, Co-Founder/Manager/Member, Germany)
Behrouz (Do Not Sit on the Furniture, Owner/Curator, USA)
Charlotte Cijffers (DJ Magazine, Digital Editor, UK)
Christophe Caurret (BETC, Music Creative Director, France) 
Danny Tenaglia (DJ/Producer, USA)
Dean Wilson (SEVEN20, CEO, USA)
Eóin Smyth (Game Over, Co-founder and Director, Ireland)
Eric Wahlforss (SoundCloud, Founder & Chief Product Officer, Germany)
Felipe Callado (Gigloop, Co-Founder, France)
Greg Marshall (Association For Electronic Music (AFEM), General Manager, UK)
Hanene Ben Smail (Blue Marlin Ibiza UAE/Demind, Head of Marketing and Events, UAE)
Harry Willis (I Am POP, Head of Partnerships, UK)
Jesse Grushack (Ujo Music, Co-Founder, USA)
Jessica lbgui (Buddemusic, Senior Marketing, Sync & Licensing Manager, France)
Kevin Watson (IMS Business Report/Danceonomics.com, Author/Founder, UK)
Kyle Hopkins (Microsoft Studios (Microsoft/Xbox), Head of Music Supervision, USA)
Loco Dice (Artist, Germany)
Lohan Presencer (Ministry of Sound, Chairman, UK)
Luz Diaz (Room 4 Resistance, Founder/DJ/Promoter, Germany) 
Philipp Straub (Burn Residency, Head Mentor, UK)
Robb McDaniels (Beatport, CEO, USA)
Sarah Wilson (The Orchard/SheSaid.So Mamas, Director of Global Artist Marketing, UK)
Scott Bourne (Ram Records, Label Director/Artist Manager, UK)
Sebastian Cochinescu (SoundFeed, Co-Founder & Chief Blockchain Officer, Romania)
Seth Combs (Beat Fever, CMO, USA)
Tim Heineke (I am POP, Founder, Netherlands)
Tom Middleton (Sound Architect/Designer, Psychoacoustic R&D, UK)

Boiler Plate:
The Mission
International Music Summit is an educational, inspirational and motivational thought leadership platform dedicated to creating and encouraging the awareness of, and appreciation for, electronic music, and the artistry related to DJing and related art forms - primarily through the presentation of summits and events that celebrate both the historic and ongoing contribution of the genre to culture worldwide. IMS annually hosts major events globally in Ibiza, Los Angeles, China and Malta. IMS was created by Ben Turner, Danny Whittle, Mark Netto, Pete Tong & Simeon Friend.

Additional info:
https://www.facebook.com/InternationalMusicSummit/
https://twitter.com/IMSibiza
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17:26:00

The IMS Legends Dinner honouring Underworld will be celebrated on Wednesday May 23 at Heart Ibiza, featuring an exclusive live performance from the artists.

International Music Summit (IMS) recognise and pay tribute to an electronic music act that have helped write British dance music history and propelled the global electronic music scene; Underworld, true pioneers who have made an outstanding contribution to the genre. Previous recipients of this tribute include, Nile Rodgers, Fatboy Slim, Pete Tong, Sven Väth, Carl Cox, Space Ibiza founder Pepe Rosello and Ricardo Urgell founder of Pacha Ibiza and the worldwide Pacha Group.



IMS Legends Award recipients Underworld comment:
 “It’s a huge honour to join our fellow IMS Legends awards recipients and for the recognition from IMS. We look forward to an evening of celebration and to doing what we love, playing live.”
Underworld are a true one-off - at home headlining the world’s biggest festivals and events, playing underground techno clubs and warehouses, sound-tracking theatre productions or taking over art galleries, disused shoe shops and Japanese department stores. Having cemented their place in the ’90s underground techno scene, the group’s definitive breakthrough came in 1996 when their timeless anthem ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’ became the soundtrack of a generation after it was featured in the film Trainspotting. The success of that single catapulted the band from the underground into the heart of the mainstream. The following two decades saw them build on that success while never compromising; selling millions of albums, performing countless sold-out shows, providing scores to productions by Academy Award winning directors Anthony Minghella and Danny Boyle, exhibiting in galleries, and sound-tracking the Opening Ceremony to the London 2012 Olympic Games. The critical and commercial success of the band’s Grammy nominated 2016 album ‘Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining Future’ saw them headline stages at Coachella, Glastonbury and Summer Sonic.

Fusing together elements of techno, dub, trance, Krautrock, drum ’n’ bass, ambient house and even blues, the rave inspired and acid glazed duo are known for their prolific creativity and appetite for breaking fresh artistic ground at every opportunity.

Underworld have gained a well deserved reputation for their live shows and will be bringing an intimate version of their exhilarating and dynamic live experience for an exclusive Ibiza performance after the celebratory dinner. Held at leading venue Heart Ibiza, the creative experience of Albert & Ferran Adria and Cirque du Soleil, IMS Legends Award guests can expect a multisensory evening of entertainment, where art, music and gastronomy collide.

IMS Co-Founder Pete Tong says:
“My relationship with Underworld dates back in 1992 when Steve Hall, Andy Weatherall and the Boys Own crew signed  “Mmm Skyscraper I Love You” and released it via their deal with my label FFRR/ London Records. From day one the band radiated a very special aura. The music, the art, the videos and the live performances elevated the genre to a whole new level. When they remade a vocal version of their 95 instrumental track "Born Slippy" for Danny Boyles iconic film “Trainspotting” in 1996 - "Born Slippy (Nuxx)” they refused to release it as a single. I publicly ‘berated’ them for weeks on my BBC Radio 1 show to change their minds. Eventually they relented and it went onto become their biggest hit reaching No 2 in the UK charts and a world wide anthem in the process.  25 years later they are still surprising, innovating and delivering top quality art. It’s a great honour to be celebrating their groundbreaking career at IMS Ibiza 11 in this unique manner.” 
IMS Co-Founder Ben Turner says:
“In 1993, Underworld’s debut ‘Dubnobasswithmyheadman’ completely changed the direction of electronic music. I was 19 years old and working inside a hugely influential rock newspaper called Melody Maker – pre-internet! - fighting for this unique fusion of electronic and indie rock music to be championed. I found my voice and wrote the Album of the Month review and campaigned for my bosses to put them on the cover the week of their album release. The album went Top Ten that week, and combined with the emergence of the Chemical Brothers, Leftfield, Orbital, the Prodigy and then Faithless, a new kind of dance act was born and a new audience engaged with the genre. Fast forward 25 years and the band continue to lead the way in our genre – composing music for Hollywood films, Olympic ceremonies but, more importantly, still owning dancefloors with new recordings, headline festival shows but also still making some of the most tender, and heartfelt music the genre has ever heard. I am proud all these years later to honour them at the IMS Legends Dinner with Pete Tong and my partners… This will be a night to remember.”

The celebratory banquet honouring a musical and cultural legacy will take place at Heart Ibiza on Wednesday May 23 at 8pm, followed by a live show from Underworld plus special guests to be announced. Limited General Admission tickets to Underworld LIVE at Heart Ibiza are also on sale now.

IMS LEGENDS DINNER IN HONOUR OF UNDERWORLD 
DATE: Wednesday May 23
TIME: 20.00
LOCATION: Heart Ibiza, Passeig Joan Carles I, 17, 07800 Eivissa, Illes Balears, Spain
COST: €150.00 – including Live Dinner Experience, all food and beverage and access to Underworld LIVE show.

IMS PRESENT – UNDERWORLD LIVE PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS
DATE: Wednesday May 23
TIME: 24.00
LOCATION: Heart Ibiza, Passeig Joan Carles I, 17, 07800 Eivissa, Illes Balears, Spain
COST: €60


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