XP Music Futures: Artists In MENA Can Take Inspiration From Reggaeton

Alfonso Perez Soto, president of emerging markets at Warner Music Group, was speaking Thursday at the XP Music Futures conference currently underway in Riyadh. He highlighted the need for Arab artists to collaborate more to boost the industry in the region and globally.

Soto noted the increasing popularity of reggaeton, a notable blend of Latin American music with hip-hop influences, adding that artists in the Middle East and North Africa should take inspiration from the genre.

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The industry must have a “stronger domestic market” to grow, he underscored. “We need more features and cooperations between and among the local talent in the region. Moroccans with Egyptians, Iraqis with the Saudis.”

Soto encouraged aspiring artists to work hard. “I think that this market is just awaking … Up to two or three quarters ago, MENA was the fastest growing market in the world. Then they came a little bit of a plateau, but I think that the … opportunities for the artists are unstoppable.”

Moreover, he highlighted that the rise in AI would impact the industry in positive ways, in creating better sounds and marketing. The technology can enable software to quickly analyse and synthesise vast amounts of data, creating new ideas in a matter of seconds.

Being held from December 7 to 9, XP Music Futures has come back for its third edition. It is the annual precursor to the largest music festival in the region, Soundstorm, organised by Saudi Arabia music platform MDLBEAST.

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Investments, events and community interaction are key to growing Saudi Arabia’s flourishing music industry, a panel at the conference in Riyadh was told on Thursday. Scores of experts and government officials took part in the panel.

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Inclusivity must also be promoted for people with disabilities, as well as older artists, panelists said. Events like XP are known to offer creatives an opportunity to learn and share their experiences, pushing the grassroots scene forward, they further noted.