Why the music scene in Saudi Arabia is getting louder

The first large-scale concert in seven years took place in 2017, and the music space is opening up, and emerging artists are finding their voices.

In the ecosystem, there are those pushing to develop the space further. One of those individuals is Nada Alhelabi, the strategy director at MDLBEAST, an incubator for the Middle East’s nascent cultural industries.

In an exclusive interview, she spoke to Arabian Business about how the music industry in Saudi Arabia is developing, how women are a core component of that industry and how the upcoming XP music conference will help shape the future of the music industry.

How will XP help develop talent and the music ecosystem in Saudi Arabia?

Our overall objective with our XP music conference is to accelerate and amplify the music industry of the Middle East. We’re going to do that by channeling expert insights and conversations for audiences through four main building blocks: talent, scene, policy and impact. We chose them after reflecting on the region’s music infrastructure as a whole and broke it down into these four main areas that play a key role in the success of the ecosystem.

Talents need to be able to express their art through music. It can only really exist if there is a scene in their city. By that we mean venues and promoters who put on regular events which attract crowds and artists.

One of the main ways to ensure a scene is to make sure policies and regulations are in place to support growth and strengthen the infrastructure while protecting the work of artists through copyright.

To bring this to life we’ll be welcoming experts, artists and advocates from around the world to drive these discussions and share their insights on what’s worked well in other parts of the world.

How limited are job opportunities in the music industry in the region, and what is being done to change this and encourage people to enter the field?

For years, there’s been a thriving underground music community in Saudi. The passion and talent has always been there. Today, we have a great opportunity to continue growing this community and turn it into something which drives cultural and economic change.

So in a sense it’s not so much about it being limited, it’s more about the incredible opportunity which we can see before us. We have tens of millions of young people in the region, many of whom have not had an opportunity to express themselves through music. That door is now fully open and as MDLBEAST we are here to support this ongoing growth.

XP is a big step towards it with passionate experts from all over the world who are able to work closely with the brightest regional stars in a conference setting. We have our signature festival, SOUNDSTORM, which brings global talent and puts them on stage for Middle Eastern audiences to experience, alongside local talent who learn so much from performing in front of tens of thousands of fans.

How does XP help encourage music tourism in Saudi Arabia, and how does the festival fall in line with the kingdom’s broader development goals?

To answer the second part first and for a bit of background, MDLBEAST was established off the back of the first edition of the SOUNDSTORM festival in 2019, which contributed $118.5 million to the Saudi economy. That’s something we’re hugely proud of. It also created 16,000 direct and indirect jobs while driving significant growth in the entertainment industry.

The social impact was also telling. Through independent research, we found that 83 percent of Saudi youth believe that SOUNDSTORM 2019 increased opportunities for local musicians and creatives in the country. Moreover, 86 percent of young Saudis said they were prouder of the creativity and culture in Saudi Arabia as a result of the first festival. As a last point, global artists who performed at SOUNDSTORM 2019 saw 36.5 percent more demand for 12 months after as reported by the IMS Report.

We know the impact is big and we are measuring key points to stay focused on delivering for Saudi tourism, but also the region; our goal is to put Saudi on the music tourism map.

Let’s talk specifically about women. What challenges do they face in the field in the region and what is being done to help them overcome these hurdles?

Representation in the industry can be a challenge. I see the need for equal opportunities and it is a priority for us. The music industry is going through unprecedented change in the Middle East and globally – women need to be a part of it.

Across the world female producers, artists and creatives are underrepresented and the number of women in executive roles in the industry is also not substantial enough.

While there’s definitely more awareness of this now, and focus to ensure fair representation between men and women by different industry players, we need to see action. It’s a strategic priority for us to grow the industry in the region in a balanced way.

At XP, we’ll be discussing women in music as one of our key topics under our pillar data, policy and advocacy, exploring the advantages of female representation and having a diverse music industry.

While there’s a lot of work to be done, there has never been a better time for us to move the music infrastructure forward with a firm focus on female growth in the industry.