3 days ago
Saudi initiative Sound Futures seeks to bridge music industry gaps
DUBAI: Saudi Arabia's MDLBEAST Foundation is inviting regional entrepreneurs to take part in the 2025 edition of Sound Futures, an initiative designed to bridge the gap between music-related startups and investors.
For the latest updates, follow us on Instagram @
The initiative aims to create local jobs, foster entrepreneurship, and accelerate the regional music economy by giving a stage to startups and entrepreneurs in the music and music-tech space to pitch their ideas to an audience of investors and industry experts during the XP Music Futures Conference, which will run from Dec. 4–6 in Riyadh.
A post shared by MDLBEAST FOUNDATION (@
'The music and creative industries in Saudi and the Middle East are evolving rapidly, but support systems for early-stage startups still lag behind at the moment … Sound Futures offers a timely platform for founders to gain access to mentorship, exposure, and possibly investment and funding to help bring their ideas to life or scale their businesses,' MDLBEAST's Bader Assery told Arab News.
Applications are open to startups, budding entrepreneurs and even students from across the Middle East and North Africa region, with a focus on discovering the next big thing in music — innovations that could shape the future of music creation worldwide.
'One great example is Maqam Labs,' Assery explained. 'They started with an idea in year one and returned the following year with a working physical synthesizer that brings Middle Eastern scales (Maqamat) into the world of electronic music.'
The initiative aims to 'champion early-stage music startups. Whether they're building tools for artists, fan engagement platforms, or music tech products,' with applications set to close by October.
According to Assery, key challenges faced by music startups in the region include financial concerns, as well as a lack of access to potential industry partners.
'Access is the biggest hurdle we've seen so far. Access to capital, the right mentors, industry partners, and even data. Founders also talk about the difficulty of validating their ideas in a market that's still building its infrastructure,' he said, referencing issues Sound Futures seeks to address.
