YWARNER MUSIC GROUP PROMOTED ANDY MA TO CEO OF THE GREATER CHINA REGION. SPANISH COLLECTION SOCIETY SGAE OUSTED ITS PRESIDENT, PILAR JURADO, THROUGH A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE.BARCELONA — For over four
decades, the Spanish island of
Ibiza has captured the imaginations —
and wallets — of international clubbers
who want to hear the masters of dance
music take them on hourslong musical
journeys in a beachfront bacchanalia.
Back in the late 1980 s, Paul Oaken-
fold and other British DJs famously
took the island’s iconic music style to
London and branded it “Balearic beat.”
David Guetta turbocharged his 2000 s
EDM popularity with his fuchsia-
decorated F*** Me I’m Famous party
at Pacha, a club that opened in the
’ 70 s as a hedonistic escape from the
conservative Franco dictatorship.
British techno legend Carl Cox, who
famously spun a nine-hour set at
a closing party for the club Space,
hasn’t missed a season since 1984.
Until now. The chances that
Ibiza’s tourist season will open as
usual in May are dropping fast as
Spanish officials wrestle with when
— and how — to reopen a country in
coronavirus lockdown.
The island’s clubs are prepared to
open if the government lets them, says
José Luis Benitez, president of the
Spain Nightlife Association, whichrepresents club owners. France has
extended its ban on live events until
mid-July, while those in Germany and
Belgium will run until at least Aug. .
Spain is expected to continue manda-
tory confinement through May 9 , and
Ibiza club owners have considered
shortening the season by opening later
in the summer and only allowing in
Spanish citizens, or even holding a
mini-season in November. Another
nightclub association, Spain at Night,
has promoted some of the measures
now being used at clubs in China,
including disinfecting venues, asking
attendees to wear face masks, check-
ing clubbers’ temperatures at the door
and using smartphone apps to track
health data. But Benitez says he’s not
confident about that system.
Artists are already turning down the
volume. “It ain’t going to happen,” says
Cox, who is booked for seven shows in
2020. “This year is a write-off.”
A total shutdown of Ibiza would be
yet another blow to the dance music
business, as well as to the island’s
economy. Entertainment is a 770 mil-
lion euro business there, representing
over half of all seasonal jobs, accord-
ing to a study by an economist at theUniversity of the Balearic Islands.
And while the economic importance
of Ibiza to dance music has declined
compared with Las Vegas, it’s still
important to many DJs’ earnings.
Artists with long residencies can
make over half of their yearly income
there, according to DJ Pete Tong, who
also is president of label Three Six
Zero Recordings. Beyond the money,
“it’s the profile and the visibility that
playing in Ibiza gives you, which then
leads to other secondary bookings
and festivals that take their cue from
Ibiza,” says Roger Sanchez, who has
performed there since 1995.
An Ibiza shutdown would add to
the challenges facing dance DJs who
are struggling to draw income and
have no easy, reliable way to monetizelivestreams. Some DJs are making
money on the livestreaming service
Twitch, but that tends to bring in thou-
sands a month, not the hundreds of
thousands of dollars top DJs earn for a
single nightclub gig.
Unlike Las Vegas, which tends to
spotlight already established talent,
Ibiza is a creative hotbed — a place
where dance artists can test records
and build reputations. Many of its
40 - plus clubs are family-owned and- operated, including the Palladium
Hotel Group, which owns Ushuaïa
Ibiza Beach Hotel (where Guetta has
a residency) and the former Space,
which was rebranded Hï Ibiza in 2017.
Despite the financial pain, some on
Ibiza say that shuttering this summer
could give the island a needed break.
In recent years, owners have extended
the season by some six weeks and
added Latin stars like Bad Bunny to a
scene long denominated by electronic
music. The longer season has exacer-
bated Ibiza’s struggles with low levels
of drinking water. A rave-less summer
“could be a really good chance for
the island to heal itself,” says Maria
May, senior agent at Creative Artists
Agency, who represents Guetta.
It could also give promoters a
chance to reconsider their priorities.
Over the years, Ibiza clubs gradually
have embraced the bottle-service
set, including influencers like Kim
Kardashian and billionaires with
megayachts. The shift has alienated
the rite-of-passage teens who
traditionally made up the majority
of clubgoers.
In light of potentially huge losses for
the island’s economy, clubs and DJs
are showing solidarity. The owners
of Pacha have turned the venue into
a face-mask factory. So far, DJs aren’t
griping about lost fees — at least not
publicly. “They are saying, ‘If we can’t
go this year, it’s OK. We’ll go next
year,’ ” says Benitez. “If you’re not per-
forming, you’re not going to be paid.”
Adds Tong: “Anyone that demands
their fees from a club will probably be
writing their death sentence in terms
of getting booked in Ibiza again.”
If clubs remain closed until No-
vember, it would represent a historic
change. Cox says he wouldn’t go
because he doubts enough club-
bers could be coaxed to travel to the
island then without the allure of
sunnier weather. But Olivia Nervo,
half of Australian EDM duo NERVO,
says she and her partner and sister,
Miriam, would be up for it. “If Ibiza
opens up,” she says, “we are all going
to want a piece.”
Will The Coronavirus Dim
Ibiza’s Music Scene?
As clubs hope to open, one becomes a face-mask factory
BY ALEXEI BARRIONUEVO and JUDY CANTOR-NAVASSanchez at Glitterbox
at Hï Ibiza in 2019.ILLUSTRATION BY WREN McDONALDSANCHEZ:^ AITZOL^ AREVALO^ GOMEZTHE MARKET • GLOBAL REPORT18 BILLBOARD • APRIL 25 , 20208market_global_lo [P]_27895791.indd 18 4/22/20 12:45 PM