Beatport acquires majority stake in International Music Summit

Beatport has acquired the majority stake in Ibiza’s International Music Summit (IMS). On January 31st, The Beatport Group announced the partnership, which they stated will “enhance and secure the future growth and expansion plans of the IMS business platform.”

Speaking on the acquisition, Beatport CEO Robb McDaniels said, “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.”

The IMS conference, which comprises workshops, seminars, and key-notes pertaining to the electronic music industry, was founded by Pete Tong and Ben Turner in 2007. The conference also includes masterclasses on music technology, live performances, and networking opportunities for artists. Beatport, the online record store and music catalog, has a longstanding relationship with IMS, with Beatport supporting a number of IMS’s projects including the recent IMS College alongside Microsoft Surface and Point Blank Music School last year.

Speaking on the partnership with Beatport, IMS founders said, “we’re very proud of what we’ve built at IMS over these past 16 years, driving the narrative and agenda of the culture forward from the genre’s spiritual home of Ibiza. 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.”