The three-day music conference aims to bring together the right minds to drive cultural and economic change in the Middle Eastern music industry.
MDL Beast, an entertainment and new media company focused on music culture, has announced the programming details and initial lineup of speakers for the first-of-its-kind music event in the Middle East, XP Music Conference.
The three-day event will take place in Riyadh from December 13 to 15. It will host a large number of regional and international industry figures who will address topics that are essential for the amplification and evolution of the region’s music industry.
Speaking about the conference, Ramadan Alharatani, CEO of MDL Beast, said: “The XP conference will help accelerate the growth of the music industry across the Middle East. We’re bringing together the most forward-thinking people from the world of music who will offer their insights and expertise to provoke conversation and incite positive action to grow our music industry.”
Attending audiences will represent diverse backgrounds including labels, publishers, talent, NGOs, GOVs, events’ companies, entrepreneurs, and industry media. All activations will be categorised under four main pillars which are considered the building blocks of the development of the regional music industry: Talent, Scene, Policy, and Impact.
The Talent pillar at XP will be addressed through 12 activations that cover topics such as original content, professionalisation as well as technology. The conference will kick off with a live performance and a discussion panel that lays down the fundamental ingredients for success in music such as education, tech innovation and investments.
Among the speakers covering original content at XP will be Chaz Jenkins of Chartmetric, while the Kuwaiti duo, Sons of Yusuf, will be covering professionalisation. As for music and technology, Dr Peter Evans and Eric Reithler-Barros of Let The Music Pay, and Janet Sawari of Sinofy Group will share their knowledge and experience.
Daytime programming at XP will include live performances, panels, workshops, Q&As, keynotes, fishbowl discussions, and screenings, while the night programme will include regional event brands with local artists performing across a range of stages.
The Scene pillar at XP will be addressed through 19 activations that cover topics such as nightlife; creative tourism, media and the copyrights collection society. The panels will also delve into the role of social media in promoting musical talent, the means of growing the music industry in KSA and the middle east music economy. Within this pillar, XP will host the screening of the docu-series Amplify, with four episodes covering the journey of MDLBeast’s CCO and Saudi DJ Baloo.
Among the confirmed speakers at XP covering creative tourism will be, Sustainable Tourism Specialist Nico Mulder at Mulder, while the media will be covered by Omar Basaad of Coexist Records along with consultant Alex Andarakis. As for the copyrights collection society, the speakers will be Moe Hamzeh, Managing Director at Warner Music Middle East, Irene Bauzá VP of Operations at Unison Rights and Mohammed Abood of Boxout.fm.
The Policy pillar at XP will be addressed through 11 activations that cover topics such as advocacy and representation, music policies, as well as data collection and analytics. The final session of this category will present a cultural report providing insights into the emerging music scene in the Middle East.
Among the confirmed speakers covering advocacy and representation at XP will be Andreea Magdalina of shesaid.so, while music policies will be covered by David Boyle of Audience Strategies LTD. Data collection and analytics will feature the experience of Christine Osazuwa of Pollen.
The Impact pillar at XP will be addressed through nine activations that cover topics such as wellbeing, equality and social equity, as well as sustainability.
Among the confirmed speakers covering sustainability will be Mashael Alshalan of Aeon Strategy, while covering equality and social equity will be Tamtam, singer and musician, Megatronic of Femmefest. As for Labels and Publishers, the speaker is Karima Damir, Director of A&R at Sony Music Entertainment.
Music professionals and fans from across the region can purchase their tickets through the website.
