Anghami, the largest music streaming service in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has acquired Dubai-based event management company Spotlight Events.
Aiming to unlock synergies and opportunities between the physical and digital worlds, the partnership will see Spotlight Events become Lebanon-based Anghami’s concerts arm, including for offline activities and activations.
Anghami’s technology will provide access to exclusive concerts through its live video streaming capabilities, as well as via creating immersive experiences through AR and VR. Fans will be offered exclusive access to private concerts, VIP lounges, meet and greets and backstage access, in addition to attending concerts either offline or streamed through their devices. Traditional and virtual concerts will be accessible either through tickets or sponsored by brands.
“Our vision is to expand from music streaming to a fully integrated entertainment platform”
“Our vision is to expand from music streaming to a fully integrated entertainment platform that meets our goal of building our own unique category that no other provider can compete with,” says Eddy Maroun, Anghami co-founder and CEO.
“This partnership will allow us to deliver unique experiences to our users while giving artists a stage to perform and reach their fans physically and virtually. Spotlight and Anghami Lab are among a number of initiatives we plan to develop as new business extensions to accelerate our growth and improve our margins while widening the gap with our competitors.”
Launched in 2005, Spotlight is headquartered in Dubai and has six affiliate offices in Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco.
“Maher [Khawkhaji, Spotlight founder/CEO] has built a great business on solid economics and has proven that live concerts and events are a scalable and profitable business,” adds Maroun.
“Our offline expertise, complemented by Anghami’s reach, data and technical capabilities, is the perfect recipe for success”
Spotlight Events has recently confirmed its programme of upcoming concerts and events in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Cairo and Riyadh, including seven-concert festival Beat the Heat, organised in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing – Dubai (DTCM).
Six concerts are planned for the rest of the year in Abu Dhabi and will be announced at a later date. The schedule also includes a live concert by Wael Kfoury in Paris. Spotlight will also be executing all of Anghami’s events, including Amr Diab Live.
“Anghami is the largest music platform in the MENA region with an incredible number of users and a unique network of partnerships that, once connected to Spotlight, will open doors to amazing opportunities,” says Khawkhaji. “Our offline expertise, complemented by Anghami’s reach, data and technical capabilities, is the perfect recipe for success.
“We look forward to being part of this dynamic team and unleashing the incredible potential to bring the best to music fans, artists and brands and take entertainment to the next level.”
The announcement follows Anghami’s recent IPO on Nasdaq as the first Arab tech company to list on the US stock market.
Last year, the company announced plans to open music venues in Dubai, Riyadh and several other Middle Eastern cities, as well as in the UK and North America.
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