MDLBEAST announces inaugural XP music conference programme & speakers

The Internet has been abuzz with talk of SOUNDSTORM by MDLBEAST taking place this December in Saudi Arabia. Earlier this week, the organisers released the details surrounding the music conference that will precede the festival which aims to accelerate the music industry in the region and beyond.

XP Music conference is a three-day event that will take place in Riyadh from December 13 - 15 and looks to be the first of its kind in the Middle East with a robust programme that will host a large number of leading industry figures — both local and international — who will unravel topics that are essential for the growth of the region’s music industry.

Ramadan Alharatani, CEO of MDLBEAST, 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.”

The XP conference will feature day programs rich with informative content through a wide variety of activations, including live performances, panels, workshops, Q&As, keynotes, fishbowl discussions and screenings, and the night program will include regional event brands with unique artist line-ups performing across a range of stages, turning XP Music Conference into a platform to bring local and regional events’ brands to the surface.

Speakers and attendees are said to include labels, publishers, talent, NGOs, GOVs, events’ companies, entrepreneurs and industry media from all over the world. The conversations will be built around four main pillars which are considered the building blocks of the development of the regional music industry, and include Talent, Scene, Policy, and Impact.

The Talent pillar will be addressed through twelve activations that cover topics such as original content, professionalisation as well as technology. The Scene pillar will be addressed through nineteen activations that cover topics such as nightlife; creative tourism, media and the copyrights collection society. The Policy pillar will be addressed through eleven activations that cover topics such as advocacy and representation, music policies, as well as data collection and analytics. Lastly, the Impact pillar will be addressed through nine activations that cover topics such as wellbeing, equality and social equity, as well as sustainability.

Find tickets and more information surrounding XP here