By the 90s, the state had nearly withdrawn all support for classical music. More popular genres like Ghazal, qawwali, folk, etc. had taken its place. National television and radio had no programming for the genre. In Pakistani society, there was a marked change of tastes influenced by a highly commercialized media, which brought an end to structures of patronage within society.

In such an inhospitable environment for the classical genre, generational musicians stopped transferring knowledge to their children. Stylistic schools of the genre (called gharanas), whole traditions of instrument-playing, -with them, allied traditions of instrument makers started disappearing. This is when a motley crew of music enthusiasts got together to ponder on the weighty task of reviving the classical arts, and thus The All Pakistan Music Conference, Karachi came into being in 2004.

The initial years of APMC Karachi were spent creating an energized calendar of events that gave exposure to the practitioners of traditional music and dance. We focused on nurturing both the artists and the audiences. Festivals and regular baethaks, all free and open for public, were hosted in which esteemed maestros of classical music were invited out of the shadows to perform before an audience. Thus a much-needed space was created to revive public interest. As our processes became more streamlined, we diversified our content to include folk music and semi-classical genres as a means to reach wider audiences.