« Safe from harm - Our duty of care »

IMS IBIZA 2018 : « Safe from harm – Our duty of care »

Alexandre Trochut
Keynote Speakers during International Music Summit Ibiza, Ibiza -Spain. 2018 - Credits : IMS Ibiza

IMS Ibiza 2018 kicked off its 11th edition with the first important panel  « Safe from harm – Our duty of care » including Pete Tong’s Avicii tribute.

Starting with an emotional and incredibly poignant tribute from IMS Co-Founder Pete Tong MBE to Tim Bergling, otherwise known as global superstar Avicii. He reflected on the life of the man behind the brand, his impact, his legacy and the importance of self-care for all. Emphasising Tim’s tragic early death of has put the spotlight firmly back on our industry, forcing us to focus on the health of the DJ.

 

“ Few will ever be that young and that talented, making the right music. It was supposed to be fun, we weren’t supposed to die chasing the dream. Our industry needs healing, and people want to be healed ”.

– Pete Tong MBE

” SAFE FROM HARM – OUR DUTY OF CARE “

Probably one of the most important of the summit, this session Christine Brown (Help Musicians UK, Director Of External Affairs & Business Development, UK) highlighted a recent study commissioned Help Musicians UK, entitled “Can music make you sick?” that worryingly discovered that musicians may be up to three times more likely to suffer from mental illness than the general public. It identified the “clear need for help” and was the catalyst for the new UK based helpline for musicians needing mental health support.

BBC Radio 1’s Danny Howard and Pete Tong shared some of the issues they had faced in their careers and echoed this sentiment when reflecting on the current DJ mentality and mind set, with performers become.

 

“ When you first do it, it’s exciting and you want to have a party every night, hang out with the promoter and be the party boy. Looking back, you need to learn when to say ‘no’ and draw a line”.

– Danny Howard

 

“ Addicted to the cycle. Being a DJ is like being a stage actor and ego is a big part of this. I want to stay up with it so I have to keep going’. It’s a relentless cycle. ”

– Pete Tong

 

The assembled industry experts gathered for this « Safe from harm – Our duty of care » agreed that the role of the manager is paramount in helping artists to find that all important balance and to provide a vital support role, Blaise James (DJ/Remedy State, Co-Founder, USA) recalled his vision personal recent experience remembering a recent event during which he had wished the arrival of a DJ to testify on the difficulties of his lifestyle. The artist was late in the flight and having not slept for 43 hours, he decided to cancel the keynote explaining that this cancellation was a perfect example and exactly what the artist needed.

” I think we should just sometimes, give artist a break. Sometimes, just giving them the time to sleep is also a good thing “

– Blaise James