Wanjiru Waweru, Jadetimes Staff
W. Waweru is a Jadetimes News Reporter Covering Entertainment News
After 17 years, of throwing a blast on a beautiful beach in Ibiza, Spain, the IMS is revealed to the Mysterious Middle East in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The event electronic music conference was announced on Thursday, September 12, and will make its first debut as the IMS Dubai on November 14 - 15 — Mina Sayahi
The two-day special occasion will include MENA region-based speakers from YouTube, Warner Music Group, Anghami, Believe, and others, along with artists and companies of many festivals such as Morroco’s Oasis Festival, Dubai’s Soho Garden, and Groove on the Grass, Beirut’s Factory People.
Furthermore, speakers from external the Middle East will consist of organizations and trademarks such as Tomorrowland, Defected Records, CAA, WME, He.She.They, and the Association for Electronic Music
An opening keynote will be provided by Maha ElNabawi, managing editor of “Billboard Arabia.” Other speakers such as Aloki Batra, CEO of The Pacha Group, and Five Hospitality; Janet Ashak, YouTube’s host of music in the region, and others. Artist contributors such as Iranian producer Deep Dish, and Saudi Arabian producer Cosmicat. As at the Ibiza occasion, IMS co-founder and BBC Radio’s Pete Tong will be hosting the IMS Dubai.
The two-day event will include 13 panel discussions, with topics such as guiding the music industry in the MENA region; a review of the culture tourism concentrated on Ibiza and Dubai; MENA region clients; regional talent consumers; the increase of label and streaming in the region; the underground view in Dubai: a concentrate on the Egyptian market; MENA women in music; and others.
“For almost two decades, International Music Summit has united the global electronic music community annually in Ibiza to explore industry trends, innovations, and the challenges our diverse community faces,” the IMS founders reported in a shared statement on Billboard. “To make a global impact, IMS seeks to be where change is happening, which is why we’ve also hosted three editions of IMS Asia Pacific in Shanghai and one in Singapore, five IMS Engage events in Los Angeles, and three IMS College events in Malta. IMS Dubai will debut in the United Arab Emirates, marking a strategic expansion into the Middle East and North Africa.”
Companies realized that the conference “will not receive government or culture funding or incentives for this initiative”. Digital download platform Beatport required a majority stake in IMS in 2023, with endorsements for the occasion also arriving from AlphaTheta, the founder of Pioneer DJ.
“Our goal is to inspire continued growth, support, and investment while addressing the unique cultural challenges musicians and start-ups face,” the statement proceeds. “Electronic music culture is built on long standing principles of bringing people together from diverse backgrounds on the dancefloor. Music has the power to unify and we all have a part to play in creating safer spaces for all; a principle that IMS and Beatport proudly stand behind.”
The MENA region is emphatically a present buzz increasing promotion for electronic music, and other music genres. The 2024 IFPI Global Report established that the total amount of MENA Revenue increased 14.4% in 2023 after a 26.8% leap in 2022. Based the research of IFPI, streaming revenue considered for 98.4% pf the region’s trademark above the previous year.
