​Industry Insider: An interview with IMS co-founder Ben Turner

Ben Turner has worked in key roles across dance music media, artist management, Music Supervision & Licensing for film and TV, plus written multiple books, but is best known as one of the original founders of the International Music Summit or IMS - one of the most influential dance music conferences held annually in Ibiza, now in its sixteenth edition. IMS has changed the shape of the dance music industry, establishing things like the AFEM and evolving the perception of the industry as a whole, promoting best practices, innovation, diversity, inclusion, health and wellness.

What originally inspired you to create IMS?

IMS was created by seven partners initially. We all had a common love and care for our industry and felt poorly serviced by our experiences at WMC in Miami and other conferences back then. Ibiza was a key driver in all of our lives, and we felt we could and should host an event to open the Ibiza season and the annual global dance summer. This was before Vegas became a focus, so all eyes were only on Ibiza. Miami was amazing for the networking and partying but we felt the genre needed more focus on industry issues and challenges and we felt we had a lot to share with our peers. Aside from that, we also really wanted to show the Ibiza government and tourist board that the Ibiza electronic music industry delivered a lot more than just nightclubs and clubbing holidays. I would say as the global industry matured, likewise Ibiza became much more professionalised as bigger money and investment had the island in its sights.

How has its mission evolved this year compared to back in its first year at Pikes?

We are very proud of our Intergenerational Exchange theme for 2025 and how we’ve implemented it with some very special pairings - SHERELLE with DJ Flight; Juan Arnau Jr with Pino Sagliocco; the manager of Black Coffee with the manager of Fatboy Slim. It was very different 17 years ago – we were a lot younger. We didn’t feel we needed any guidance – we just opened up our contacts book and asked people to come and speak. Now IMS has a full curation committee feeding in to the programming and we are focused this year on 40 years of jungle and d’n’b and house music from all parts of Africa. We’ve evolved along with the music and are taking more and more outside input to craft things correctly.

Saudi money culture washing, weapons companies investing in streaming brands, AI making music indistinguishable from humans’, overpriced DJs and greedy agents - is dance music straying from the honest roots that originally inspired the youth movement and does it need to realign to feel morally sound again?

Its more than strayed! Its completely lost. But there are enough individuals and platforms standing for what’s right and hopefully trying to bring things back into line.

Is it too late?

I don’t think so. Seeing how people are putting their phones away gives me some hope that humanity can see the right way forward. A small indication but a positive one. On the political aspect, these are tense times for everybody and hopefully those fractured industry relationships can heal over time.

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You’ve had a diverse career from founding Muzik magazine to managing huge artists and co-founding IMS. What pivotal moments in your career defined your path in the music industry?

Muzik magazine was founded by myself and fellow journalist Push 30 years ago next month! Muzik gave me a global platform that connected me to some of the greatest talents I still work closely with today or remain great friends with – from DJs to promoters to my IMS partner Pete Tong. IMS co-founding AFEM: Association for Electronic Music over 12 years ago to today managing some of the finest talent around. But it was founding and exiting Muzik within five years that somehow defined me as I left the safe print media world to be entrepreneurial. And being in control of my own time and destiny gives me more pleasure than anything else. My time living in Los Angeles and Miami were also hugely defining moments for me in many ways.

Why do you think Ibiza remains such a vital hub for electronic music?

I’ve been visiting the island for almost 35 years now and there is still nowhere like Ibiza. Electronic music in this climate is pure magic. Simple fact: it was the music at sunset at Café del Mar that changed my life – not the music in the clubs. The combination of emotive electronic music with nature and the sun dropping as day switched to night – still nothing better on earth. And that ritual hasn’t changed. Combined with Ibiza’s ever-evolving landscape and re-invention, highlighted by the [UNVRS] opening in 2025.

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The IMS Dalt Vila party is returns in 2025 - what kind of hoops do you have to jump through to get a party on a UNESCO site every year?

Its more about what we did the year before that keeps us there: the clean-up; the care of the local community; the planning; the volume; the capacity; the music. We have to think about it all to ensure we get invited back each year. We’ve definitely shied away from a few artists because we felt it might mean we wouldn’t get invited back!

Artists aside, who were some of your inspirations from an industry figures perspective when you first got involved in the electronic music world?

Garry Blackburn from Anglo – now manager of Fatboy Slim and Pete Tong. Peter Powell – the former BBC Radio 1 DJ and my boss at worldpop.com. Steve Hall – manager of Underworld. And Judy Weinstein from Def Mix. I am relieved to say they are all still with us.

What traits do you think make a great business person within the dance music industry?

Integrity; transparency; honesty. Those are the kinds of people I like doing business with anyway.

IMS has hosted influential figures like Nile Rodgers and Brian Eno. Which keynote or discussion has had the biggest personal impact on you?

David Lynch` ‘in conversation’ with Moby at IMS Engage in Los Angeles. It went completely off-script, but somehow felt inspired and intellectual and life-affirming. David spoke twice at IMS events, after I ended up releasing two music albums with him. A career highlight all round!

Read this next: Five ways David Lynch made his mark on electronic music

IMS has done a lot to normalise discussions around mental health in the music industry. How do you personally stay grounded?

Swim; steam; sauna – every day I possibly can. Resets me every time. Or spending time with my son which puts everything into perspective.

What’s the legacy you hope to leave through your work with IMS and in the electronic music scene at large?

IMS is here to drive the culture forwards; to challenge the issues we face; and to help drive thought-leadership and change. I think IMS really drove the narrative around mental health more than any other platform and it’s good to see it now fully integrated into our event with the backing of Pioneer DJ. Many criticised us for focusing on the ‘soft’/non-music issues. But they are actually the hard issues.

A poignant question given the theme to this year’s IMS, what advice would you give to young people hoping to make their mark in electronic music—whether as artists, managers, or industry leaders like yourself?

Follow your heart; find good friends and mentors; experiment; listen and learn and, mostly, learn from your mistakes. And be nice to people.

IMS Ibiza, the thought-leadership platform at the intersection of culture, education, industry, and wellness in electronic music, returns April 23 - 25 for the sixteenth edition of the summit. This year’s theme - Intergenerational Exchange - runs through the entire programme as IMS explores the dynamic connections between generations within the electronic music community. For more information visit: internationalmusicsummit.com