Theme music for events: ADSW 2026 case study

When a stage moment really matters, visuals carry the message, but sound carries the meaning. The right music tells the audience how to feel before a single word is spoken, and it gives the entire production a sense of purpose, pace, and prestige.

This is why theme music for events is not just a creative decision. It’s a strategic one.

For Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week 2026 and the Zayed Sustainability Prize Awards Ceremony, WithFeeling was commissioned by Masdar to create and deliver a complete suite of music assets designed for live ceremonies and high-volume content output. These are landmark moments in the sustainability calendar, and they demand music that feels modern, premium, and globally relevant, with regional nuance handled with taste.

This case study is about how we approached it, what we delivered, and why the “system” matters as much as the composition.

The challenge: one track never survives real-world usage

Most event teams do not fail because the music is bad. They fail because the music is not deployable.

A longform piece might feel powerful in a studio environment, but event realities are unforgiving:

• speeches and voiceover need space
• walk-ins need energy without overpowering
• awards moments need lift without sounding theatrical
• social platforms compress audio and exaggerate harshness
• cut-downs can easily feel loud, jumpy, or unfinished

In this project, the brief was evolving, timelines were tight, and the music had to work across ceremonies, rehearsals, and daily social output. That meant we could not deliver “a track”. We had to deliver an operational package that production teams could actually use without stress.

The insight: treat event music like sonic branding

Our approach was to build brand music with an identity, then engineer it into a set of practical assets.

That’s the crossover between sonic branding and event sound design. The goal is recognisability without rigidity.

We focused on:

1) One musical DNA, multiple use cases
A consistent tonal world, harmonic language, and melodic signature so every edit feels connected.

2) Edit-safe structure
Compositions designed with natural edit points so 15 seconds does not feel like a random slice.

3) Purpose-built dynamics
Because “calm” is not just quieter. Calm is a mix decision, an arrangement decision, and often a texture decision.

4) Regional influence with restraint
Subtle regional cues should feel like cultural intelligence, not a cliché.

What we delivered: a full theme music for events toolkit

The deliverables tell the real story. This was a structured music system delivered for multiple moments, lengths, and channels, including:

Core formats for each track

• Longform versions suitable for ceremony usage
• 1-minute hero edits for the most high-profile moments
• 15s, 30s, 90s edits for marketing and content
• Walk-in / walk-out stings for stage transitions and award moments

Additional variations for real content demands

• A Khaleeji variation of the core track world, delivered across the same edit lengths
• Extra calm cut-downs (10s, 18s, 35s, 50s) created specifically to sit under social media cards and short-form videos without feeling aggressive or “too loud”

That last point is more important than it sounds. Social content is often where the public meets the event. If the music is harsh, the brand feels harsh. If the music feels premium and controlled, the whole production feels confident.

As Keith Gillespie, Head of Sonic Branding at WithFeeling, puts it:
“When sound fits, it disappears. And that’s exactly when it’s doing the most work.”

The result: consistency, pace, and confidence across channels

When you deliver event music as a system, three things happen:

1) The event feels more “owned”
Audiences subconsciously associate the musical world with the platform.

2) Production becomes easier
Show callers, editors, and marketing teams can deploy assets quickly without last-minute panic edits.

3) Marketing output becomes more cohesive
Your highlight reels, award moments, social cards, and recap films feel like one story.

This is why theme music for events is not a finishing touch. It is part of the brand architecture of the moment.

Wrapping up

ADSW and the Zayed Sustainability Prize are not small stages. They’re the kind of platforms where every detail gets noticed, and where the music needs to hold up under pressure, on schedule, and across countless edits.

If you’re planning a major summit, awards ceremony, or launch in 2026, we can help you build an event music system that feels premium, flexible, and unmistakably yours.

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