Is this the death of live bands in Ibiza due to serious sound restrictions?

Ibiza Rocks has announced that it will no longer host live bands.

The San Antonio venue was hit with a music suspension last year due to sound restrictions, and now it has made the decision to axe live performances from bands. However, it has made clear that it will continue to host its daytime pool parties.

Co-founder Andy McKay said: “For every gig, we have to have our speakers, wedges and the guitar amps arranged in exactly the same position as they appear on the acoustic plan. Anyone who knows anything about staging live music performance will know that this is simply impossible.

"To comply, we would need to persuade the Prodigy, Kasabian, New Order, the Kooks and every other live act performing at Ibiza RocksHotel to use a generic stage set up, which obviously they aren’t going to do."

The current laws surrounding sound in Ibiza is primarily focused on DJ-led events, but McKay says having live bands at venues creates "serious problems" as the majority of acts need their own setup.

McKay added: "It’s only natural that the best DJs and live bands want to travel with their own equipment and use their own sound engineers. That way they can control their own sound and deliver the best product they possibly can.

"When it comes to presenting big global acts, this is an industry standard, but as soon as we even change the angle of one of our speakers, we move outside the parameters laid down in the acoustic plan and are technically breaking the law. We’ve been forced into a position whereby we can no longer risk hosting live performance music shows in Ibiza for fear that our license will be revoked."

Read Andy McKay's statement on the future of live music at Ibiza Rocks here.

Check the gallery above to see some of the acts who have played at Ibiza Rocks, including LCD Soundsystem, Boy Better Know, Craig David and J Hus.

Dave Turner is Mixmag's Digital News Editor, follow him on Twitter