Approximately 100 music professionals are in the island to take part in this year’s Island Music Conference (IMC) that runs today through Sunday at the Courtleigh Auditorium in New Kingston.

According to co-founder Judith Bodley, the organising body — chaired by Grammy Award-winning artiste Shaggy — pulled out the stops to get the best of the best participants.

“We have persons coming out of Guadeloupe, Trinidad and Tobago, we have persons coming from Guyana, [and] we have persons coming from Barbados. So, we’re extremely excited that the Caribbean is in support of the Island Music Conference and also our global music partners across the world,” Bodley told the Jamaica Observer.

There will be representatives from YouTube, Meta, Spotify, Audiomack, Amazon, Warner Records, and Ineffable Records. Experts from Sirius XM, VP Records and United Masters will also offer one-on-one consultations.

The five-day IMC event will include over 15 panels and workshops, featuring prominent global music executives and practitioners who will unravel and provide insights into a slew of crucial global music topics, among them the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the music industry, the nuances of publicity, branding strategies, artiste management, digital music marketing strategies, and effective money management.

International recording artistes Wyclef Jean, Mya, Sean Paul, Teejay, kes, Stonebwoy, Bounty Killer, Aidonia, Masicka, Marcia Griffiths, Jesse Royal, and Konshens are participants.

This evening there will be an exclusive dinner being hosted by Shaggy at Devon House in St Andrew to set the stage for the week of festivities.

“I’m looking forward to the Chairman’s Dinner… This year it’s being hosted by Wayne Marshall. There is also comedy from Dr Michael Abrahams, and then the persons we have performing include Khalia, Queen Marcia Griffiths, and Matthew Malcolm,” Bodley explained.

Thursday will see the ‘I Am Chippy’ party and after-party at Brew’d Awakening in St Andrew to celebrate the release of dancehall artiste Teejay’s début EP of the same name.

On Friday, the Island Rock concert will also take place at Hope Gardens in St Andrew as part of IMC week. It will feature Yohan Marley, Barrington Levy, Zac Jone$, Quan-Dajai, and many others.

In the meantime, Bodley is encouraging all music stakeholders to take advantage of this year’s staging of IMC.

“If it is that music is your career then everything that is available to you at the Island Music Conference is allowing you to live your best music industry life. Never before in Jamaica has there been this convergence of global music practitioners all in one space so that you can network… so that you can learn so much that has to do with the music,” she said.