Entertainment
5 Music Industry Acquisitions In H1 2022 In June 2022, Arab music streamer Anghami acquired Dubai’s Spotlight Events. Here are the details of that deal and four other global music industry acquisitions announced in the first half of the year.
Anghami + Spotlight Events Anghami now owns events and concert company Spotlight Events. The deal announced in June will see the Dubai-based company become Anghami’s live events arm, including offline activities and activations. Two months earlier, Arab music label Rotana Music Holding, which counts Najwa Karam, Abdul Majeed Abdullah, Wael Kfoury, and Ahlam among its starstudded portfolio, also inked a deal with Anghami, which was the first Arab technology firm to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange, to distribute its collection of original music audio and video content.
SoundCloud + Musiio In May, SoundCloud acquired Singapore-based AI music company Musiio to strengthen the artist-first platform’s music discovery features. Founded in 2007, SoundCloud is home to more than 300 million tracks from 30 million creators and has users across 190 countries.
Warner Music Group (WMG) + Qanawat Music In March, major American entertainment and record label WMG entered an agreement to purchase MENA-based music distributor Qanawat Music—a subsidiary of Qanawat FZ LLC and a music distributor in the region. The acquisition will see WMG significantly expand its regional presence and boost F O R B E S M I D D L E E A S T.C O M
Dubai’s position as a media and content creation hub. As per the deal, Qanawat Music will function as a standalone company under the WMG umbrella, led by founder Adnan Al-Obthani.
Snoop Dogg + Death Row Records In February, Snoop Dogg officially became the owner of Death Row Records. The American hip-hop mogul and entrepreneur purchased the label that launched his career in 1993 with single “Who Am I (What’s My Name)?” from investment firm Blackstonecontrolled company MNRK Music Group. After finalizing the acquisition, Snoop Dogg released his 20th studio album “B.O.D.R.” through the label. Death Row Records was established in 1991 and previously owned by Dr. Dre and Marion “Suge” Knight.
Epic Games + Bandcamp Online record store and music community Bandcamp revealed in March that it had been acquired by North Carolina game developer Epic Games. Led by its co-founder and CEO, Ethan Diamond, directto-fan platform Bandcamp will continue to operate as a standalone marketplace and music community. It will also work alongside Epic Games, cofounded by billionaire Tim Sweeney to expand globally as well as build its live streaming, discovery features, and payment capabilities. AUGUST 2022
BY SAMAR KHOURI, FEATUREFLASH PHOTO AGENCY / SHUTTERSTOCK.COM
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