So we’re back now from the second International Music Summit in Ibiza. A very worthwhile excuse for a business trip to the partly island. IMS is really shaping up to be a key event in the dance industry calendar.

The organisers are fostering a healthy relationship with the local government that could prove vital in the continuing prosperity of the club scene there. Read my review for Resident Advisor of the truly historic IMS Grand Finale, with Basement Jaxx performing live in the UNESCO World Heritage site D’alt Vila (Ibiza Old Town) for more on this.

Having been to last year’s event, one slight issue was that the panels were a little too similar in tone and substance to 2008. It felt like not much had moved on when clearly it is moving at pace. The 2 moments that got people most excited were when really groundbreaking visions for the future came up. This is the stuff people need to be speaking about.

First was 19-year-old Callum Negus-Fancey speaking about how he mobilises enthusiastic kids to promote his Let’s Go Crazy events. Obviously everyone was keen to hear what makes ‘the kids’ tick in the digital era. And it was interesting just how out of touch he made 90% of the room feel. (When asked if he was thinking of booking Paul Oakenfold for a gig, he’d replied “who is Paul Oakenfold?!”)

Then there was Richie Hawtin’s closing interview. Richie really put the (fat) cat amongst the dance pigeons by criticising almost everyone who had spoken over the 3 days for focusing too much on trying to make digital music fit old models of physical ownership.

Richie rightly pointed out that music is no loner about owning an item (it really only has been for a relatively short period of human history, in fact), and now we return to it as primarily an experience – about creating a moment rather than building a collection.

So why then were so many of the panels banging on about sales models and how to shift digital units? Overall people still seem reluctant to be really visionary with their debates, since so many of the inevitabilities of the digital world are at odds with how they currently do business, and the unstoppable creative freeforall is just a bit too uncomfortable to fully address. But that is exactly what they should be doing. What a shame they didn’t put Richie on first!

IMS is a fantastic networking event held in a perfect location at a perfect moment in the season. It looks set to grow and florish over the coming years, which is good news for the industry and Ibiza, but I hope that everyone takes heed of Richie’s words for IMS:10 next May, puts their fears to one side and then come up with a few more truly exciting visions of what electronic music and all digital entertainment can (and will) become.

Check out IbizaA-Z and Beatportal for loads of good IMS:09 coverage.