DUBAI: Egyptian superstar Amr Diab has become the first Arab artist to cross 1 billion listens on audio-streaming platform Anghami.
Diab left Spotify in April after Anghami signed a deal with him and his record label, Ney Studios, to exclusively stream the artist’s back catalog and future releases under the Ney label.
At the time, Diab said: “I am very excited about this new venture, which will allow me to better connect with my fans and reach new music lovers around the world. I chose Anghami because it’s a local platform that has made it internationally and is proudly showcasing Arab culture to the world.”
The move reflects Anghami’s commitment to being a leading light for Arabic content and showcasing it on the global stage, according to Mary Ghobrial, the platform’s chief strategy and operations officer.
“Signing a multi-year, exclusive license agreement with the top Arabic star is only the beginning of our commitment,” she said at the time.
Diab is undoubtedly Anghami’s biggest star signing to date and already had a long-standing relationship with the platform even before the deal. In 2020, its servers crashed as they streamed one of his concerts, resulting in a delay. In March this year, he hosted an Anghami party during which the company unveiled its new brand identity.
According to the Global Music Report 2021, published by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, the Middle East and North Africa was the world’s fastest-growing region that year, with streaming accounting for 95.3 percent of the music market share.
Anghami, which was the first Arab tech company listed on Nasdaq, describes itself as the market leader in the Arab music streaming space.
“We’re trying to grow into places across the Middle East that we have not yet invested enough in, but we want to grow beyond the Middle East to wherever there is an Arab diaspora,” Elie Habib, the CEO and co-founder of Anghami, told Arab News in March.
“We’re launching multiple services later this year which connect people to people, people to music, and people to other forms of audio content.”
As part of this commitment to growth, Anghami said it has implemented a number of initiatives, including the launch of Anghami Labs, the signing of a strategic partnership with Rotana Music, an expansion into live events through the acquisition of Spotlight, and partnering with streaming platform TOD to offer sport and entertainment content.
