{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fquartertones.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fdj-baloo-fCYYyuuk","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"What is the Future of Saudi Music & the Arabic Music Industry? | COO of MDLBEAST","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/1ce0a58c-3e05-4d4b-a2e7-f3ffb869b215/f5738991-e57c-41b2-8197-4fc8d48be022/quartertones.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"We sit down with Ahmed Alammary (otherwise known as DJ Baloo), the Chief Creative Officer of MDLBeast and a leading music figure and thinker in the region. We discuss the origins of MDLBeast and its goals for transforming the music industry in Saudi Arabia and the broader region. MDLBeast was born from a brief for a three-day music festival in 2019. Since then, it has evolved into a multi-layered music brand with an ethos centered on amplifying music culture across various platforms, including events, venues, record labels, radio channels, and music conferences. Given that Saudi Arabia was previously considered a \"music desert\" with no industry, music education, rights, or dedicated venues, the organization's involvement is seen as having incubated so much value and accelerating the development of a music industry. The conversation also touches on the dramatic shift in how the international community views Saudi music, moving from initial backlash to a point where artists and management companies are now actively seeking collaboration. This change has fostered a significant regional conversation and is credited with fading stereotypes, with Arabs starting to look at each other differently."}