{"id":225462,"date":"2025-03-05T11:50:54","date_gmt":"2025-03-05T11:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/?p=225462"},"modified":"2025-03-05T11:51:23","modified_gmt":"2025-03-05T11:51:23","slug":"saudi-arabias-mdlbeast-unveils-a-thousand-and-one-festival-concept-featuring-electronic-music-immersive-storytelling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/saudi-arabias-mdlbeast-unveils-a-thousand-and-one-festival-concept-featuring-electronic-music-immersive-storytelling\/","title":{"rendered":"Saudi Arabia\u2019s MDLBEAST unveils &#8216;A Thousand And One&#8217; festival concept featuring electronic music, immersive storytelling"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\">Saudi Arabia-based music entertainment company <a href=\"https:\/\/mdlbeast.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MDLBEAST<\/a> is looking to expand the Middle East&#8217;s music landscape with the launch of a new music festival concept and the rollout of a new set of initiatives for 2025.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>MDLBEAST<\/b> recently announced the launch of its <i>A Thousand And One <\/i>festival concept, offering music, arts, and culture. The two-day festival, scheduled for April 24-25 in Riyadh, will blend electronic music with immersive storytelling and experiences, said MDLBEAST.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\"><b>Ramadan<\/b> <b>Alharatani<\/b>, CEO of MDLBEAST, described the festival as an example of the company\u2019s broader vision.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">&#8220;<em>A Thousand And One<\/em> is a key example of our mission to build and curate a diverse range of music experiences that cater to different audiences and genres,\u201d Alharatani said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">      <div class=\"mb-advert__incontent\">      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__tweeny hidden-xs hidden-ms hidden-sm\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-sizes=\"992 1200 1440\" data-name=\"628x90 Sponsor banner #5 (992+1200+1440)\" data-params=\"dfp_sponsor5_628\" id=\"dfp_sponsor5_628\"><\/div>      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__banner mb-advert__banner--inline hidden-xs hidden-sm hidden-md hidden-lg\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-sizes=\"480\" data-name=\"468x60 Sponsor banner #5 (480)\" data-params=\"dfp_sponsor5_468\" id=\"dfp_sponsor5_468\"><\/div>      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__mobile mb-advert__mobile--inline hidden-ms hidden-md hidden-lg\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-sizes=\"320 768\" data-name=\"300x50 Sponsor banner #5 (320+768)\" data-params=\"dfp_sponsor5_300\" id=\"dfp_sponsor5_300\"><\/div>      <\/div>      <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cInspired by our rich heritage and culture, this new festival concept reinforces our commitment to expanding the region\u2019s music landscape, and we can\u2019t wait to share it with the public.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Meanwhile, <strong>MDLBEAST Foundation<\/strong> is pursuing an aggressive agenda to transform the music industry in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">      <div class=\"mb-advert__incontent\">      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__spu\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-name=\"300x250 Sponsor MPU #1\" data-params=\"dfp_spu1\" id=\"dfp_spu1\"><\/div>      <\/div>      <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In 2024, the <b>MDLBEAST Foundation <\/b>hosted a series of programs that sought to bolster the MENA music ecosystem:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li class=\"p1\"><b>XPERFORM<\/b> &#8211; a talent competition that discovered Lamia Khattab from over 1,000 applicants across 36 nationalities in 2024<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><b>Hearful<\/b> &#8211; a hearing health awareness initiative that carried out over 140 hearing tests, diagnosing 13 individuals with hearing problems<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><b>XCHANGE<\/b> &#8211; a set of workshops touring the Middle East, engaging over 200 music professionals across Kuwait City, Tunis, and Muscat<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\">Sound Futures &#8211; an initiative that connected music startups with investors<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><b>PWR<\/b> <b>CHORD<\/b> &#8211; an initiative that showcased 10 guitarists performing before a panel of six judges<\/li>\n<li class=\"p1\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/saudi-arabias-xp-music-futures-launches-artist-management-bootcamp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><b>Artist Management Bootcamp<\/b><\/a> &#8211; a program that saw 35 graduates, some of whom have already secured internships at <b>Sony Music, Warner Music, <\/b>and<b> MDLBEAST Records<\/b>.<\/li><\/ul>\n<p class=\"p1\">MDLBEAST Foundation said some of these programs will run through 2025. The 2025 initiatives include its <strong>HUNNA<\/strong> mentorship program, the XPERFORM talent competition, and the XCHANGE workshop series. It says its efforts build on the success of its<a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/mena-focused-xp-music-futures-conference-to-return-for-20241\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> <b>2024 XP Music Futures<\/b><\/a>\u00a0conference, which <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/xp-music-futures-showcased-how-strong-the-music-industry-in-the-mena-region-can-become\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attracted<\/a> <b>5,130<\/b> attendees, <b>23<\/b> partners, and <b>380<\/b><span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>speakers across <b>121<\/b> sessions. The 2023 conference drew 190 speakers from across the world and \u201cthousands\u201d of attendees.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">      <div class=\"mb-advert__incontent\">      <div class=\"mb-advert mb-advert__spu\" data-loaded=\"no\" data-name=\"300x250 Sponsor MPU #2\" data-params=\"dfp_spu2\" id=\"dfp_spu2\"><\/div>      <\/div>      <\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThrough these initiatives, MDLBEAST Foundation is not only shaping the future of music in Saudi Arabia and the region but also contributing to the development of a global music industry that is innovative, inclusive, and resilient,\u201d said <b>Nada<\/b> <b>Alhelabi<\/b>, Director at MDLBEAST Foundation.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In January, Alharatani <a href=\"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/we-aim-to-solidify-saudi-arabia-as-a-global-destination-for-music-and-entertainment-within-the-next-five-years\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> the company aims \u201cto solidify Saudi Arabia as a global destination for music and entertainment within the next five years, with our local artists and events gaining international recognition.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The creator of the XP Music Futures conference will host the new festival concept in April in Riyadh.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":220784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[131128,133773,130385,131576,133774],"class_list":["post-225462","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-mdlbeast","tag-ramadan-alharatani","tag-saudi-arabia","tag-xp-music-futures","tag-xperform"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225462","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225462"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225462\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/220784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225462"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225462"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.musicbusinessworldwide.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225462"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}