IMS Ibiza 2025: Highlights from a Powerful Opening Day
IMS Ibiza 2025 opened with sun-soaked views and soul-stirring conversations, setting the stage for a powerful edition centered on connection across generations. From big ideas to deeply personal stories, day one offered a glimpse into the global heartbeat of electronic music.
As the sun sets over the crystalline waters of Cala Llonga Bay, the energy at IMS Ibiza 2025 is already palpable. Day one of the 16th edition - presented in partnership with AlphaTheta - has been a sun-drenched whirlwind of bold ideas, heartfelt moments, and powerful exchanges between generations of electronic music visionaries.
Elijah set the tone early with his opening keynote, unpacking this year’s theme of Intergenerational Exchange with his trademark yellow thought boxes and challenging questions. “The bond across generations is principles and ethics,” he reminded us, as he nudged the audience to think bigger: “What are you doing to expand the possibilities of electronic music?”
The IMS Business Report echoed the same ethos. MIDiA Research’s Mark Mulligan pointed to the importance of culture over metrics in 2025, even while highlighting a healthy 6% year-on-year growth for the global electronic music industry, now valued at $12.9 billion. “The numbers follow from the culture,” he emphasized, before delivering a mic-drop of his own: “People talk about the gatekeepers having all gone. They haven’t - they’ve just been replaced by a new gatekeeper: the algorithm.”
Afro house emerged as a vital thread running through the day’s conversations. In a moving session moderated by Dare Balogun, artists like Shimza and Jackie Queens celebrated its global rise while defending its roots. “Afro house means I get to express myself in my most authentic way to the world,” said Shimza. Jackie added, “Spirituality, joy, dancing, and music rooted in Black lived experience - that’s the kind of afro house that moves me.”
Elsewhere, the spirit of intergenerational exchange took center stage - from the career-building strategies shared in the packed How Managers Break Artists panel, to a deeply personal conversation in The Art of Areté area. Patrick Mason’s emotional journey through dance, identity, and family secrets unfolded before a captivated audience, bridging past and present in a way only IMS could deliver.
Meanwhile, in a candid conversation between veteran managers Garry Blackburn (Fatboy Slim) and Cristiana Votta (Black Coffee), came this pearl: “There’s no such thing as an average day in this business,” said Votta. “That’s what I love the most about the job.”
As the night descends and networking drinks begin poolside with music from Mont Rouge and Raffa FL, the air is thick with inspiration. If day one is anything to go by, this year’s IMS Ibiza isn’t just about the future of dance music - it’s about who shapes it, and how we carry it forward, together.
