Last week, Ears To The House published an article asking what was going on at International Music Summit. In short, a majority stake in the business had just been bought by Beatport – but we couldn’t quite figure out why. What exactly was in it for the retailer to own the biggest chunk of IMS?
Well, it seems we didn’t have to wait too long for the first part of the answer – for the money! You see, the IMS events are designed to bring in the biggest names in dance music, and more often than not, they’re also the same ones who have lots of dough in their bank accounts. Beatport, under the leadership of Robb McDaniels, knows a money spinner when it sees one.
Yesterday, we received an email from the IMS themselves, telling us that early bird tickets for the four-day IMS Ibiza event – running from April 26th to 29th – are now available. The prices? They start at €336.60 when the booking fee is included – with discounts available for anyone under the random age of 27, students or anyone using what they call “sustainable travel” to get to Ibiza…
Anyone going is promised the high-minded opportunity to see “leading visionaries, thinkers, creators & innovators discussing key issues”. Details on who the identities of these supposedly “leading visionaries” currently remain elusive – but if last year’s event was anything to go by, expect some kind of reward to be given to one of their own for being so great.
Quite what the great and the good who attend are going to decide to inflict on the unwashed as part of the future they can allegedly help shape remains to be seen. We’re not exactly hopeful…
