The theme focuses on scaling up on the reach and impact of XP by collaborating with educational entities to grow impact on the youth, work with partners on experiences and demo lab, plus focus on the maturity of the event’s six initiatives. The MDLBEAST event, to be held at Riyadh’s JAX District from Dec. 5 to 7, is due to offer a program that spans both day and night. The three-day conference returns with dozens of sessions including fireside chats, keynotes, panel discussions, fishbowls and workshops designed around growing the music scene and industry within the MENA region. In this year’s edition, XP Music futures will once again play host to a number of initiatives that encourage growth within the regional music industry. Xperform will provide a platform to regional talents to perform at XP Music Futures and grow their music career with MDLBEAST Records. Judges for this year are Shamma Hamdan, Defencii, Hassan Abouelrouss and Rawan Alfassi. Xchange tackles the latest issues in the region’s music industry and curates a series of workshops that take place in cities ahead of the XP conference. The key objective of the workshops is to invite key experts to dive into XP’s pillars to identify hot topics for the conference programme, and to give an opportunity for community building between members of the region’s music industry. Hunna, derived from the Arabic plural of “she,” is a women-led initiative on a mission to amplify women in the music industry. Storm Shaker, a DJ competition, will invite aspiring DJs from all over the MENA region and beyond, to showcase their craft. The Artist Management Bootcamp (AMB) is also set to return as a hybrid two-week bootcamp designed to equip aspiring artist managers with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the music industry. Sound Futures will invite aspiring musicians and innovators to pitch their ideas to music industry investors, with the goal of securing funding and mentorship for their careers.