CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

The Call for Submissions initiative invited MENA’s and the wider world’s creative communities to contribute directly to the XP Day program, providing a framework to discover unseen talent, highlight early-stage innovations and to enable grassroots involvement and diverse perspectives in the XP Day program.

The initiative accepted and reviewed submissions on two different tracks:

1. Track one called for publication pieces — articles, short videos or an image series— about trends in the regional music scene and industry, to be published on XP’s blog.

2. Track two called for music tech innovators to apply for pitching their project at one of XP’s highlight conference sessions, the XP Startup Campfire with Jillionaire. The selected submission received personal advice from angel investor Jillionaire on how to enhance their concept to attract new funds and grow their business.

The Call for Submissions was replied to by 63 applicants from Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and other international markets. Ten content creators got selected and will have their submissions published on XP’s blog. Three tech start-ups were invited to present their pitches live on stage at XP:

• Sound Sauce (Cairo)

• BlingBy (Dubai)

• Bump (Los Angeles)

Sound Sauce has a simple and straightforward business model: it is a one-stop agency for music licensing and PR/marketing, building a bridge between independent music producers and music supervisors looking to place independent music in films and commercials. Sound Sauce are among the first to provide this service in the MENA region, leveraging their deep understanding of the emerging music scene. Their database includes hundreds of music producers including rising talents such as Ahmed Bassioni or Marwan Moussa. Sound Sauce was presented at XP by Cairo-based cofounders Nirvana Bebars and Amr Ezzeldinn.

BlingBy is a cloud based app for elegantly embedding added information into any video, podcast, live-stream and more, without disrupting the original experience. The app provides an interface within audio or video players that helps users to find more in-depth information about what is shown or addressed in the content. BlingBy was presented at XP by the Dubai-based co-founders Jessica Kreher and André Oppel.

Bump is a US fintech platform for musicians who are dealing with unpredictability of income, lack of credit options and easy-to-use business growth tools. Bump helps individuals to manage and analyze their financial performance in detail and to make decisions on how much to reinvest into their business. Bump’s co-founder and CEO James Jones attended XP on behalf of Bump. James is a Harvard Business School graduate, an award-winning tech entrepreneur and former entertainment lawyer based in Los Angeles.

Xperform

XPerform is a competition for vocalists from the MENA region, who are given an opportunity to perform at XP Music Futures, collaborate with MDLBEAST Records and attend Soundstorm music festival. More than 200 artists entered, and judges Matthew Dicks, Karima Damir, Banah Anabtawi, Lil Eazy selected ten finalists who then entered the public voting stage to determine the final five finalists to perform at XP Music Futures. XPerform Host Hessah Alsanea introduced the five finalists—Asayel (KSA), Lowkie (KSA), Moelex (KSA), Reina Khoury (Jordan) and SkinnyG (KSA)— to the audience at XP. Hip-Hop artist Asayel was selected as the 2022 XPerform winner, with judges noting her unique blend of Arabic and English lyrics in her original songs, and her infectious stage presence.

Xp Air

XP Air is a podcast series capturing the insights and personal journeys of artists, talent bookers, sound engineers, and promoters, locally and globally. The in-depth conversations uncover stories about careers, experiences and probe the music industry. The podcast aims to educate and build communities, as well as awareness about the MENA and international music scene. XP Air host, Vinyl Mode explains, “My purpose was always about sharing love, joy, and my music. The community was always with us. But the best day in my life was when I got a call from MDLBEAST, as they actually valued what I do. I was very happy to share my knowledge with them and audiences.”

Xchange Workshops

The XChange initiative was launched as part of MDLBEAST’s mission of building the Middle East’s music industry. A series of workshops were hosted across three cities in the lead-up to XP Music Futures in Riyadh in November 2022. The workshops were led by industry experts facilitating conversations around the pillars of TALENT,

SCENE, IMPACT & INNOVATION

• XChange Jeddah: Held in June 2022 in collaboration with Hayy Jameel, this edition of XChange explored the world of talent management. XChange Nites Jeddah featured Vinylmode & Fulana plus a silent disco.

• XChange Riyadh: Held in September 2022 in collaboration with Diriyah Biennale Foundation, this edition of XChange focused on legalizing the Saudi music scene. XChange Nites Riyadh showcased KNZ and featured artists BluePaper, Agha & Fulltone

• XChange Dubai: Held in October 2022 in collaboration with TODA, this edition of XChange explored Web3 innovations in the music industry. XChange Nites Dubai presented in partnership with Gabu Music and Analog Room featured performances from Megatronic and Angry Suzy.