Photo Credit: Anghami
Anghami is the leading music and entertainment streaming platform in the MENA region. The company recently announced the acquisition of live events company Spotlight Events.
Spotlight is an event and concert company that specializes in managing and executing live events and concerts in the region. The partnership will see Spotlight become Anghami’s arm for live events and concerts, including offline activities and activations to further expand Anghami’s footprint in the music and entertainment ecosystem. Anghami says it hopes to unlock synergies and opportunities between its digital and physical offerings.
Spotlight Events will provide a stage for artists to perform and reach their audiences offline. At the same time, Anghami’s technology will bridge the gap between the offline and online worlds. Anghami is working on augmented reality tech similar to Snapchat’s partnership with some of the major music festivals in the United States.
“The strategic partnership will enable Anghami to unlock opportunities between artists and brands, enriching music fans’ experiences with exclusive access to private concerts, VIP lounges, meet & 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,” the press release adds.
Spotlight Events has recently confirmed its program of upcoming concerts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Cairo, and Riyadh.
“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, Co-Founder, and CEO of Anghami.
“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 intiatives we plan to develop as new business extensions to accelerate our growth and improve our margins while widening the gap with our competitors,” Maroun concludes.
The announcement follows Anghami’s recent IPO on NASDAQ as the first Arab tech company to list on the U.S. stock market. First launched in 2012, the company has become one of the fastest-growing music technology platforms in the Middle East North Africa (MENA) region. It has a catalog of 72 million songs and licensed content from leading Arabic labels, independent artists, and distributors available to its 75 million registered users.