Photo Credit: Beatport
After making several acquisitions during 2022, Beatport has purchased a majority interest in the International Music Summit (IMS).
Denver-headquartered Beatport, which arrived on the scene in 2004 and bills itself as “the worldwide home of music for DJs, producers, and their fans,” formally announced this latest play today. For reference, the Soundful investor last year bought royalty-accounting and distribution company Ampsuite and demo-submission platform LabelRadar, besides making multiple executive appointments.
And while the precise financial and ownership details of today’s investment don’t appear to have been publicly revealed, the involved parties made clear their plans to “enhance and secure the future growth and expansion plans of the IMS business platform.”
IMS’s “flagship event” is set to kick off in Ibiza on Wednesday, April 26th, and the function “will continue to operate under the direction of its co-founders” – albeit with “the full support” of Beatport, higher-ups indicated.
Beyond the main three-day summit, however, it was reiterated that IMS had previously hosted international happenings in Los Angeles, Shanghai, and Singapore, among other locations. With the support of Beatport, which has offices in Denver, Berlin, Brighton, and LA, “there are plans to strengthen this global footprint once again,” the entities communicated.
Addressing his company’s newest acquisition in a statement, more than five-year Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels said: “IMS has become one of the most impactful gatherings for the global DJ and dance music industries, and everyone at Beatport is excited to take this brand to the next level.
“We look forward to partnering with Pete, Ben and the entire IMS team to broaden the IMS footprint as a major component of our plan to expand the Beatport brand around the world through community, education, and thought leadership initiatives,” concluded the Audius advisor McDaniels.
And in joint remarks of their own, IMS’s five co-founders (Ben Turner, Danny Whittle, Mark Netto, Pete Tong, and Simeon Friend) said in part: “Aligning with Beatport, who have been supporters of IMS from our inception, will enable us to action many of our ideas on how to continue to grow the platform all year round; to further educate and mentor the next generation; and to help focus the industry’s attention on the issues that matter. It will help increase our ability to have more impact for the genre.”
Though 2020 and a substantial portion of 2021 proved especially difficult for the EDM space due to lockdown orders and large-gathering bans, 2022 delivered several positive developments.
Aside from the return of IMS Ibiza and Kx5’s delivering North America’s largest-ever concert headlined by an electronic act, DJ Afrojack inked an EDM-focused partnership with Universal Music. Finally, BMG last year acquired the “entire music publishing back catalogue” of veteran electronic music creator Jean-Michel Jarre.