Day 3 of XP Music Futures focused on empowering women in music to achieve inclusion and providing a platform for rising talents
The XP Music Futures 2023 Conference concluded its 3-day activities with a huge participation of more than 300 speakers from 30 countries and 150 sessions and workshops over three days.
In its third edition, the conference was dedicated to building bridges for cooperation and networking among stakeholders in the music industry, providing a variety of talks and spaces for active learning and practicing musical instruments, as well as sharing experiences with young talents.
The conference discussed sustainability, the role of music in climate action, equality and inclusion, protecting intellectual property and copyrights, and facing challenges to build a better future for the music industry considering the rapid changes locally, regionally, and globally. Discussions revolved around four main pillars: talent, scene, impact, and innovation, with international speakers accounting for 51.7% of the total while local and regional speakers represented 48.3%.
This year’s edition also saw an obvious improvement with a noticeable increase in the number of speakers by 47% and the number of sessions by 78% compared to last year’s edition.
Nada Alhelabi, Strategy Director at MDLBEAST and director of XP Music Futures, said: “It is becoming clear that XP Music Futures is gaining momentum and reaching new milestones every year, as it is evolving into this vibrant platform for amazing musical creativity. While regional and international participation allows the music-loving audience to explore different cultures and new music genres. Simultaneously, the conference is introducing the Saudi musical culture to the world, creating an opportunity to celebrate the Kingdom’s rich and diverse musical heritage and reviving this heritage in harmony with the modern technologies that play an integral role nowadays in making music and art production.”
XP 2023 presented various interactive experiences this year by launching ‘Demo Lab’ to showcase music-industry-leading brands and the newest services and tech innovations with the participation of Anghami, Merwas, Paradise Worldwide, L-Acoustics, Berklee College of Music, Sparked, Music Hub, and Gamers Arena, to support proactive initiatives, entrepreneurship, and push the boundaries for new projects and exploring the horizons of innovation and creativity.
Day 3 Highlights
Sessions and activities on the third day achieved huge turnout and audience engagement with discussions about Rap music, the history of Hip Hop in the Arab world, creative footprints, optimizing revenues in the music industry, an interactive quiz about electronic music, and three talks on the journey of artist Nicole Moudaber; Golnar Khosrowshahi, CEO and Founder of Reservoir, and local artist Mishaal Tamer.
On the final day of the conference, Music Commission organized a workshop with instructor Mazen Lawanda, in which participants learned how to infuse jazz music with Arabic melodies (maqam), which was applied on the song ‘Blue Bossa’ followed by a discussion on similarities between jazz melodies and Arabic musical scales (maqamat).
Panelists spoke about the necessity of raising awareness across the components of the music ecosystem, the role of legislative reforms in supporting arts and the creative environment, and how to enforce and put these reforms into action, reviewing international models including South Korea and France to capitalize on these experiences locally and regionally.
The panelists also expressed optimism and positive sentiments towards the expected upcoming golden years for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in light of the Saudi Vision 2030, hosting Riyadh Expo 2030, FIFA World Cup 2034, and the impact of all these achievements bringing the world to the Kingdom, thriving the creative economy by creating new unprecedented opportunities for growth and development.
The Music Commission organized a talk outlining the future of music policy by sound governance practices that featured Mai Salama, Lutz Leichsenring, Jake Beaumont-Nesbi, and the Music Commission Official Spokesperson Paul Pacifico, and was moderated by Jake Beaumont. Music Commission also held sessions on the future of music education, and music production, introducing The Recording Academy, and ensuring women have a seat at the table in decision-making in the music sector.
Sessions of the XP Music Futures Conference extended to cross-cultural collaborations, the rise of regional markets to the world stage, the basic steps for obtaining an event license, the role of practicing acting performance, movement, and breathing techniques for healing purposes, along with educational workshops on songwriting, the impact of artificial intelligence, and practicing Salsa music and Tango.
Moreover, the audience enjoyed a series of the most special art performances as part of the sponsorship agreement between Spotify’s EQUAL Arabia program and Femme Fest in support and empowerment of female creative voices, featuring Fulana, Donia Wael, Meron T, and Manal, within efforts to incentivize the participation of women in developing the music industry and the role of XP in promoting gender equality in the music scene. The XP Nite program also featured several concerts and performances by Hakim, Chelina Manuhutu from the Netherlands, Mali’s Tinariwen band, local band ‘Untamed’, Abyusif, Aly Goede, and others.