RIYADH: The XP Music Conference by MDLBEAST — a three-day event leading up to SoundStorm — kicks off on Monday, welcoming local and international artists for panel discussions, workshops and more. Held in Jax, Diriyah, in collaboration with the Saudi Music Commission, the conference aims to lay the foundations for a thriving music industry in the Kingdom, with 17 different workshops, meetings, keynotes and discussion panels. “Here in Saudi Arabia, more than 50 percent of the population are under 25 and we have a lot of hidden talents, and so we have a lot of opportunities,” said Nada Alhelabi, director of the XP Music Conference. “And what we want to do is give that talent the tools and exposure so that they can learn and consider music as a career.” Chief Creative Officer Ahmad Alammary, aka Saudi DJ Baloo, told Arab News: “It’s exciting, especially with XP, you know, it’s future-building, right? Our tagline is ‘amplify music futures’ and, by that, we actually mean that we are supporting the music industry, we’re pushing it to grow.” The conference will be built on four main pillars — talent, scene, policy and impact — which will operate as building blocks for the development of the music industry in the region. According to the conference organizers, this first-of-its-kind event in the Kingdom will expand opportunities for the country’s music industry. “We have several topics about education, about content development, about how the talent can consider music as a career,” Alhelabi told Arab News. “We will look at things like promoting the scene. Basically, since our scene here in the region is new, what kind of setup do we need here? How can we provide more platforms for the talent to train and get practice? How can we collaborate with different industries?” Among those attending will be people representing diverse labels, publishers, talent, nongovernmental organizations, events companies, entrepreneurs and industry media. On day one of XP, the talent-building block will be addressed through six events, including the official opening, which will feature some of the best up-and-coming local music talents, followed by a reaction panel titled “How do I get into the music industry?” The scene-building block will be thoroughly covered in 10 workshops on the first day of XP, starting with an open educational event covering music copyrights. That will be followed by an in-depth discussion covering the growth of the music media industry in Saudi Arabia. Day one of XP also addresses the impact of the music industry through an engaging workshop operated by the founding members of collective SheSaid, who will share their vision on how to achieve gender parity in the music industry. Following the XP Music Conference, MDLBEAST’s SoundStorm — the largest music festival in the region — is back for the second time and will offer four days of thrills.