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BIME Bogotá showcases more than 50 artists

The second Latin American edition of the conference and festival attracted more than 2,000 delegates to the Colombian capital

By James Hanley on 15 May 2023


image © Alvarado_foto

Organisers of BIME Bogotá say the second edition of the Latin American conference and festival surpassed expectations after attracting more than 2,000 industry professionals from 30 countries.

The event, which serves as a bridge between the European and American music industries, returned to the San Felipe Creative District in Colombia from 3-7 May.

Held at the Ean University of Bogotá, BIME Bogotá featured representatives from the likes of Amazon, Billboard, Bizarro Live, Ditto, IFPI, IQ, Loud and Live, Netflix, Ocesa, Rolling Stone, Spotify, TBA Agency, TikTok, Vydia, Warner, WiZink Center and YouTube. Delegates included artists, producers, start-ups, students and industry executives of all levels, while virtual attendees were also able to tune in via bime.org and the BIME app.

The associated BIME Live showcases, meanwhile, hosted more than 50 concerts on five stages at venues including Longo’s, Parque La Araña, Tejo La Embajada and The Ghetto Project, with artist highlights including Jimena Amarillo (Spain), Maiguai (Colombia), Amaia (Spain) and Conjunto Media Luna (Colombia).

BIME director Rubén Irisarri tells IQ the gathering – a sister event to the long-running BIME Bilbao – marked a step forward from last year’s debut.

“We have taken an important leap to become a benchmark for the Latin music industry with base in Colombia”

“In this second edition we have taken an important leap to become a benchmark for the Latin music industry with base in Colombia – a key country in the development of the LATAM region,” says Irisarri. “There was representation from more than 50 countries, including online and face-to-face attendees.

“We opened BIME to the city welcoming thousands of attendees at the showcases taking place at San Felipe along with 250 accredited press to complete the equation for what has been an enormous success for us.”

Key topics discussed during the conference included gender equality, sustainability, representation of Afro-Latin artists and diversity. Other activities included a vinyl market with exclusive releases, and concerts and daytime DJ sets at Parque La Araña.

“At BIME we see our events and online platform as a resourceful tool for all levels of individuals who make up the music industry, which is why keep evolving is key and constant like the industry itself and the challenges we face,” adds Irisarri. “In addition to the hot topics that must be addressed, we want to extend our content to other disciplines that somehow influence the music industry. Cutting-edge studies that go from sustainability to monetisation and, of course, consolidate that bridge that we have opened between America and Europe for a greater internationalisation of music in Spanish, which right now is at its best moment in history.”

Next on the agenda is the flagship BIME Bilbao 2023, which will run from 25-28 October.

 


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