the NY Times covers the changes at Pacha Ibiza!

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/arts/music/pacha-in-ibiza-feels-dance-clubs-center-of-gravity-shift.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

some choice quotes:

Lately Pacha’s profits have soared along with the growing popularity of electronic dance music. But so have the fees demanded by the top D.J.’s, to the annoyance of Ricardo Urgell, the 75-year-old Pacha patriarch who runs the club as a family business. Last year he decided that enough was enough.
He fired his longtime music director, Danny Whittle, and did not renew the contract for Erick Morillo, a Pacha regular for more than a decade, setting off a chain of defections by other headliners like Tiësto, Luciano and Pete Tong. Only one big name, David Guetta, will return this summer, largely to protect his brand, which he built at the club.
“The D.J.’s wanted more money to play less,” said José Urgell, known as Piti, who is Mr. Urgell’s 65-year-old brother. “It was an abuse. We had to come up with a new plan because the old one was going to explode.”

“The Urgells chafed at the growing power of celebrity D.J.’s and their handlers and said they longed to return to simpler times when the club wasn’t ruled by money.”

“The changes raised Pacha’s profile, but the Urgells grew annoyed at how Mr. Whittle indulged the whims of top acts, like redesigning the D.J. booth last year to accommodate Tiësto and finding the Swedish House Mafia trio extra Champagne at island supermarkets. They also clashed when Mr. Whittle began allowing Pacha D.J.’s to spin at the Ushuaïa Beach Hotel, which put on afternoon pool parties, taking its cue from Miami and Las Vegas.”

“Some in the dance world criticize the Urgells for firing Mr. Whittle and say that they misread the market for top D.J. talent.
“This is going to cost them a fortune,” Mr. Whittle said of Pacha’s new direction. “I am either dealing with madness or genius, and it’s just about to come out in the wash.”
Mr. Whittle could become potential competition. He said the billionaire Ronald Burkle was backing his new D.J. promotions and management agency, and Mr. Whittle, 50, is programming the music for the Cipriani restaurant just down the road in Ibiza, having already signed three Pacha defectors: Luciano, Mr. Morillo and Defected in the House.”

thoughts??? some big statements in this article!!!