Spread across three days in May, the fifth annual International Music Summit consists of some of the most forward thinking and relevant discussion, panels and speakers with some of the most experienced names in the business, culminating in two fabulous nights of music in the jaw dropping setting of Dalt Villa in Ibiza. One of the founders, Pete Tong speaks exclusively to DMCWORLD about this year’s event.
So year five of IMS and it’s gathering pace very nicely. With obvious comparisons to the much missed New Music Seminar in New York back in the 80s – where and when did the idea first arise?
“It was kind of a collective desire between myself, Danny Whittle and Ben Turner standing on the Terrace at Pacha one late night looking out towards Dalt Villa. It was one of those ‘what if’ moments where we were discussing how great it would be to do something to give back to Ibiza, after everything the island has given all of us. That was an evening during my first stint at Pacha and we were just having a chat about whether Miami was worth it any more, had the business element gone and it was just one big party over there. And that’s how the seed was planted”
So the initial idea was to do something to make Ibiza proud again as it was always getting bad press?
“Exactly Dan. We thought it would be great to go to the government and to be seen to be doing something that as you say, made everyone proud and put a serious slant in the island. We went and talked to the Counsel and they were really excited straight away and sold on the idea immediately. They also loved the fact that it was going to extend the season by one week in May.”
But nothing happened straight away though?
“No, two years went by when we were looking for an enabler, someone who could come up with the money but it didn’t happen. To be honest with you, we weren’t happy with each other as we’d told too many people and we thought someone may come along and steal the concept. We were at Miami in March 2007 and said to each other, okay, if no one is going to fund this let’s put our own money in and get the ball rolling. And before we knew it, Pioneer were on board sponsoring it anyway.”
How many delegates did you get the first year, your press releases say it sold out the 300…
“Ha, it was maybe around the 150 mark and they were mainly press, hangers on and family. But what an adrenalin rush from start to finish. I pretty much did every panel and every delegate went with me! It was so intense but we knew it was going to grow and grow and one day take on a life of it’s own. Funnily enough though, the following couple of years we had people come up to us and say they actually preferred year one because of the intensity of it all, they felt what we felt.”
And how is 2012 looking?
“We are well on the way to selling out. Let’s just say the world is very well represented this year, And it’s great to see the emergence of delegates coming through from countries such as Australia and India all of a sudden.”
Why do you think these two nations are finally making such a mark in the dance world?
“Well Australia has always had a strong festival scene, the club scene has never really established itself though, the nearest are the One Love guys down in Melbourne, but apart from that there has never been anyone ever present. Empire Of The Sun and Dirty South have come out in recent years which is great and there are some very good young producers now bringing some good stuff out, India is a completely different scene. The desire was there with Goa Trance all those years ago, but India has been one of these places where you get booked for a gig six months in advance and then you turn up and the night has been cancelled for one reason another. Saying that, I played at the Sunburn Festival there in December and it was just magnificent. So there are good signs for both of these countries, it’s interesting times for EDM, America has taken the game to another level, the sheer vibe over there is unreal.”
What do you think you have achieved to date, what are you most proud of?
“I think giving the island something different which has never existed before. It’s so deserved, everyone acknowledges the immense workload Ibiza has done for the electronic world over the years, so this event is very fitting. There would be no David Guetta without Ibiza, the Swedes wouldn’t be where they are now if they hadn’t started their Mondays at Pacha. Without sounding too pretentious, we would like to become the industry body who looks after people in the EDM world, that’s where we are heading with it…”
What was your highlight of 2011
“I absolutely loved the Daniel Miller interview with Richie Hawtin. And even though he couldn’t make it, the video link up interview with David Lynch in Hollywood was amazing. We are getting so much support from the US.”
Dance music is in it’s strongest position for a very long time, your theme this year is Connections Count as you open the doors to some of the biggest partnership companies around. This year you have representatives from You Tube, Twitter and Foursquare…
“The aim is to bring these sort of people into our world. We have been given access to their worlds and we felt now it’s their turn to come and touch base with us. They have strong views and they have been given a golden ticket to meet their audience. They have obviously been working on their service, but we felt it was important that they meet us or they won’t be able to do that 100%. It’s a massive learning curve for us all, we want to be with them and it works the other way round – it’s all about embracing each other. Tatiana Simonian for instance, who is the Music Industry Relations head at Twitter, gave an incredible speech at The Coachella symposium in Palm Springs a couple of weeks ago, we are very much looking forward to seeing what IMS 2012 brings us.”
A huge coup getting Chic’s Nile Rodgers as one of the keynote interviews, especially with the news of his recording with Daft Punk at the moment – who’s idea was that?
“Mine and Ben’s. I am a huge fan of autobiographies especially by musicians and Nile’s ‘Le Freak’ book reads like a thriller, a fascinating tale and there are so many lessons to be learnt from his life. It helps that I’m old enough to remember Studio 54 even though I never went! Chic enjoyed the crest of the disco wave only to have the rug pulled out from underneath them by all and sundry. Suddenly they wake up to people burning crates of disco vinyl and some of the music industry turning their backs on them in the midst of the disco backlash. His story is how he evolved from all that, his fight with cancer, so many great stories about Madonna, David Bowie, Michael Jackson and how he is still in the industry today. A great read. Anyway, I thought he would be perfect for IMS and mentioned it to Ben who agreed. I had a mutual friend in Simon Le Bon who introduced us, I tweeted him to see if he was interested in coming over and he tweeted right back saying he’d love to.”
Brilliant. And it helps he is back in the studio with Daft Punk!
“It does, but that’s sheer coincidence. I thought that was a very smart move by Thomas. Very Daft Punk.”
Have you heard the end product yet?
“No I haven’t, and I bet Nile hasn’t either ha ha!”
Some of the topics for discussion this Summit include – Ibiza Year Of Change – what is the thought process behind that?
“We change the title of this discussion every year to be honest. There is always a degree of change on the island, last year was the emergence of Ushuaia, no one expected how big it quickly became. This year it’s all about the techno wars involving chop and changes at Cocoon, dc10, Amnesia and Space. Plus Guetta and Avicii off to Ushuaia and the Swedes going up the hill to Privilige. There is always change in Ibiza, it’s just really accelerated ten fold this year.”
And you started all this in the first place by briefly leaving Pacha a few years ago for Eden!
“Ha ha yes I suppose I did.”
Is there a more beautiful backdrop in the world than Dalt Villa for an event? This year you are hosting a double header on the Thursday and the Friday – what have you in store for us all?
“Thursday is the F*** Me I’m Famous free pre party with David Guetta, Paul Oakenfold and also Diplo which I’m excited about and Friday is the Grand Finale Festival which has Carl, myself and Seth plus Loco Dice who we’ve been trying to get for years. There’s also a live performance from Azari & III which is going to be incredible, I had them on at Radio 1 last year at Ushuaia and if their show is anything like that, well it will blow the roof off if there was one.”
What is the connection between IMS and the 123 Festival taking place in Ibiza in July?
“We are partners in 123 with Pino Sagliocco. He was one of the founders of Ku which is now Privilige, brought over everyone in the 80s like Freddie Mercury, still has a house on the island and is now the Chairman of Live Nation in Spain organising concerts for massive superstars such as Madonna. We are only a small partner in the festival but we are going to bring it great editorial and have brought the electronic side or artists to the line up.”
What about Elton John?
“Oh ok, well I got him as well!”
From a personal point of view, things couldn’t be better for you. There were silly rumours a few years ago that perhaps you were thinking of moving on, but the show is stronger than ever. You still happy kick starting the weekend for the world every Friday night?
“Absolutely, I’m not going anywhere. I’ve been over in the States for a few weeks listening to all of the stations they have, there is nothing like Radio 1 at all, it is so professional. I do want a crack at America at some point but I am very happy at the station right now. The time changes to my show has made it more flexible for me, the bosses like you in the chair doing your show live and now that the slot is nearer to the daytime, that’s now possible every week. I also did a show for 6music yesterday, that’s an incredible station I have to say.”
Ah, another household big DJ going over to America and listening to the radio non stop. Radio 2’s Steve Wright goes over there once a year and sits in his hotel room for a fortnight in his dressing gown solely listening to all the different stations…”
“Well I would have looked a bit stupid in a dressing gown listening to American radio. I tune in whilst I’m in the car….”
IMS IBIZA 23-24-25 MAY 2012 Gran Hotel, Ibiza, Spain
http://www.internationalmusicsummit.com
