IBIZA, Spain — The International Music Summit Ibiza (IMS) is a comprehensive event dedicated to promoting awareness of and appreciation for electronic music. Held on this picturesque Spanish island and created in 2007, when it was presented by Pete Tong as a means to inspire debate and discussion, the Summit has since grown to be widely regarded as a leading platform for thought and leadership in the electronic music sphere. The 2019 edition took place over five days in May and welcomed industry leaders, influencers and newcomers to participate in a series of talks, presentations, socials and performances, spread across a number of venues on the island. Curated in partnership with shesaid.so, the leading global network of women in the music industry, this year’s program focused on mental health, diversity and examining club culture within the objective of developing new strategies to address these important issues.
The Shop Ibiza has been a trusted partner and supplier since the event’s inception, providing an ever-increasing inventory of production support as the scale and scope of IMS has increased. This year The Shop supplied three of IMS’s principal locations with all sound, lighting, video and DJ requirements, as well as providing further support to satellite events. The Shop also worked closely with official event-sponsor, Pioneer DJ, co-ordinating its exhibition stands and literature and constructing its product-testing stands.
The Hard Rock Hotel Ibiza hosted both IMS’s extensive Conference Room program as well as its Poolside official events, a highlight of which was the IMS Networking drinks party. For the poolside audio, The Shop supplied a Pioneer Pro Audio XY system, comprising four XY-152 and four XY-218s as the mains and two XY-101 and two XY-118s for monitors, all driven by Powersoft amplification. Three CDJ-2000NXS2 multi players and a Pioneer DJ DJM-900NXS2 pro mixer supplemented the system.
The Conference Room played host to a broad range of daily guest speakers and discussions. Another Pioneer Pro Audio XY system, this time comprising eight XY-81 and two XY-115s with a further two XY-81 as stage monitors, was used to deliver crystal clear speech reproduction, demonstrating the flexibility and versatility of the XY Series range.
The flagship open air music event of IMS Ibiza 2019 took place again at the Dalt Vila UNESCO heritage site, bringing the curtain down on another memorable gathering of the electronic music industry and heralding the start of summer. Taking place within the walls of a historic 2,500 year old former fortress, it was a not-to-be-missed occasion which featured a who’s who of global superstar DJs. In keeping with its status as one of the leading music events on the island, The Shop Ibiza pulled out all the stops to supply every detail of what was effectively a festival brief for a truly spectacular seven-hour event.
At Dalt Vila, The Shop was responsible for stage, sound and lighting designs, video provision and overall event management, including licensing, technical planning and liaison with the emergency services. All audio at the site was by d&b audiotechnik and The Shop engaged leading designer Nick Jevons to create a stunning light show, using 40 Martin VDO Atomic Dots and a further 74 Martin Mac products from Martin by Harman.
Unseasonal rain on the day could have created a worry amongst the organisers but the Ibiza faithful were not put off, the production team ensured that proceedings went off without a hitch, prompting Ibiza Spotlight magazine to describe it as “…one of the best Dalt Vila parties of recent times.”
Managing director of The Shop, Simeon Friend looked back on IMS 2019: “We’ve been an integral part of the growth of IMS Ibiza over the last 12 years and were very proud to have been closely involved in its development into a globally important gathering. The Shop’s team worked closely with the organizers and sponsors to ensure that every aspect of the Summit was delivered to the highest possible standard. From the workshops and conferences, to what turned out to be a wet and wonderful Dalt Vila finale, everyone who attended would agree that IMS 2019 was another great success.”
IMS co-founder Danny Whittle added: “As usual, The Shop team delivered an amazing conference. Their work on what proved to be a difficult event due to bad weather at Dalt Villa was next level. As soon as the rain stopped, the crew climbed the stage rig and removed all the protective covers on the lights and effects within minutes. The event went on to be a legendary IMS grand finale – massive thanks to The Shop and its team of dare devils!”
