CONCLUSION

—Abdulrahman Bakhsh Co-Founder, Lymm and former Private Sector Partnerships Director of the Saudi Tourism Authority

THERE IS ANOTHER REGION UNDERGOING SUCH A HUGE DEVELOPMENT. WHAT IS HAPPENING IN SAUDI IS NOT ONLY IMPACTING THE REGION BUT THE WORLD.”

—

MDLEBEAST’s 2022 XP Music Futures was held in Riyadh from November 28-30. The Day and Nite program included speakers from all over the globe, from Cairo to Amsterdam, Los Angeles to Lagos, Seoul, and Dubai. Artists, producers, and superstar DJs converged with the next-gen of buzzing local and emerging artists. Promoters, managers, music industry executives, tech developers, and government officials commanded stages and hosted workshops. Stories were recounted, experiences relayed, and knowledge shared. Each panel, workshop, and networking opportunity was designed to inspire, educate, help navigate and elevate the willing regional audiences they engaged. Conversations focused on building and sustaining new music economies in the region and how to market the MENA sound to global audiences. Masterclasses demonstrated innovations to assist production, and sessions advised on new media strategies. Panels examined the need for more live music venues to cater to MENA’s evolving scene and musical tastes, as well as how to safely helm these spaces and parties in this new era of entertainment. Unbridled optimism reverberated from each session. It became evident after 80 Day Program sessions that change was in motion; there was genuine excitement about what the next few years looked like in the MENA region.

In the evening, the JAX District came alive. The Arts district’s thoughtfully curated warehouses, outdoor stages, enclaves, and laneways echoed afro-beats, electronic, hip-hop, amapiano, jazz, disco, and afro-fusion from both established and emerging. Crowded dance floors bustled to local and international DJs and artists; performance artists and dance troupes roused onlookers. The XP Nite program was electric.

What attendees were witnessing was the seen and unseen, present and future sound of MENA. Of what is transpiring in the region and how platforms such as XP help expose, enhance and accelerate this new music movement and moment.

— Nada Alhelabi, XP Director