When it began in 1989, the International Live Music Conference (ILMC) was the first ever dedicated gathering of leading figures involved in the world’s concert industry, many of whom had only ever spoken on the phone. It swiftly grew to become the most respected meeting place for live music professionals in the world.
Bringing professionals together to air their common goals, aims and issues, while providing unique networking opportunities, ILMC has developed into a year-round organisation that also publishes the industry’s leading international trade magazine, IQ. ILMC organises the International Festival Forum (IFF), and various specialist satellite events that take place around its main annual conference including ILMC Futures Forum, ILMC Touring Entertainment LIVE, new music showcase Soho Calling, and the Green Events & Innovations Conference (in partnership with A Greener Future).
Whilst the ILMC adapts and changes in response to innovations and events affecting the industry, all ILMC events are designed, organised and supported by active members of the concert industry not an outside organisation. The ILMC has also fostered the formation of most of the international industry’s current trade associations and it is used by those bodies as a means of regular communication. More than 2,500 professionals participate in ILMC week, with 4,000 professionals attending ILMC events throughout the year.
While live entertainment leaders and executives attend to do business, ILMC is not a traditional conference. The week mixes the professional and social, including conference debates and keynotes, private meetings, networking events, live music showcases of upcoming artists, gatherings of industry associations, wellness activities, off-site events and shows, and a gala dinner and awards ceremony.
Across the week, ILMC welcomes promoters, venue operators, booking agents, artist managers, festival organisers, ticketers, and production and business professionals from over 60 countries. And the ILMC programme is developed in close cooperation with practicing professionals, supported by the industry’s most prestigious companies.
ILMC also publishes IQ Magazine, the leading international B2B title for the live music industry. The magazine is published eight times a year alongside various detailed reports on sectors such as festivals, arenas, promoters, and ticketing. IQ’s website complements the long-form content with a daily news service, which is accessed by over 100,000 professionals each month. IQ’s news digest, Index, is emailed daily to over 15,000 subscribers.
For nearly 40 years, ILMC has provided not just a discussion forum that has led to tangible change and evolution within the industry but also an essential opportunity for colleagues to meet, do business, and most of all have fun.
Being supported by practising industry professionals provides those involved access to a vast number of resources – from the input of virtually every leading concert promoter in the world, to the coverage offered by all of the major trade magazines.
In addition, IQ Magazine is now the leading international B2B title for the live music industry. The magazine is published eight times a year alongside various detailed reports on sectors such as festivals, arenas, promoters and ticketing. IQ’s website complements the long-form content with a daily news service which is accessed by over 75,000 professionals each month. IQ’s news digest, Index, is emailed daily to over 15,000 subscribers.
Over the last thirty five years, the ILMC has provided not just a discussion forum that has led to tangible change and evolution within the industry, but an essential opportunity for colleagues to meet, do business and most of all, have fun!
ILMC HQ:
Unit 31, Tileyard Road
Kings Cross, London
N7 9AH
UK