EDM's International Music Summit comes to Hollywood

By August Brown

March 28, 2013 12 AM PT

With hangovers from the Ultra Music Fest still fresh in their throbbing heads, some of the most important names in dance music will make another run of it in Hollywood on April 17 at a new edition of the International Music Summit.

The recurring Ibiza-based conversation series -- a more sober and dance-business-focused gathering -- makes its inaugural L.A. turn at the W Hotel after a satellite event at last year’s Coachella festival. The conference will host a full day of interviews between titans of electronic dance music, tech and the music-biz infrastructure.

Some of the highlights include talks between Shelly Finkel from SFX Entertainment (which has made major plays in the EDM sphere lately) and the DJ-tastemaker Pete Tong; Russell Simmons and Ultra Records head Patrick Moxey; Skrillex and IMS head Jeff Rosenthal; and Lada Gaga and Swedish House Mafia’s respective managers, Troy Carter and Amy Thomson.

Perhaps the most intriguing talk will be between Matthew Adell of Beatport and the futurist pioneer (and author of the excellent manifesto “You Are Not a Gadget”) Jaron Lanier. Each is known for groundbreaking Internet and tech work (Lanier invented the term “virtual reality” and was profiled in the New Yorker for his work at the forefront of digital life) and a healthy contrarianism. They should bring a needed skepticism to all the relentless cheerleading in tech and dance music.

The interview series is limited to 250 tickets, and is bookended with a couple sets from Foxes and Soul Clap at the W. If the first weekend of Coachella hasn’t obliterated your appetite for music discussions, it should be a rousing night for future-minded dance fans.

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