One of the Middle East’s best-selling artists, Amr Diab, has signed an exclusive multi-year licensing deal with music streaming company Anghami.
The deal will see the megastar Arab singer’s entire Nay Label audio and video catalog and future releases available only on the Prominent Middle East and North Africa-focused Spotify rival’s service.
Anghami says that Amr Diab is the most streamed Arab singer across the world, and is also the No.1 artist on Anghami, with close to 1 billion streams.
Anghami calls the deal a “strategic move,” which aims to “further differentiate Anghami’s vast selection of music and podcasts”.
Anghami reports to have more than 75 million registered users with around 1 billion streams per month, and a catalog of more than 75 million songs.
The announcement comes just weeks after Anghami’s successful listing on the NASDAQ Stock Market, in which Anghami claims that it became the first Arab tech company to become a publicly traded company.
Anghami says that the “deal marks the start of a long and strategic partnership between both parties”.
Anghami adds in a statement that that the acquisition of Nay’s existing repertoire, as well as all of Amr Diab’s upcoming releases, “will strengthen its position as the ultimate destination for lovers of the megastar’s unique composing style and melodic voice”
The company says that Amr Diab has become extremely popular throughout the Mediterranean as well as the MENA region.
“Acknowledged as the first Arab and Middle Eastern artist to start producing high quality music videos, Diab became the first Egyptian and Middle Eastern performer to have a number one hit on the Billboard World Albums Charts.
Anghami’s exclusive deal with Amr Diab comes six years after Universal Music Group boss Sir Lucian Grainge issued a decree across his business banning his labels from signing exclusive ‘windowing’ deals with music streaming services.
Grainge’s stance on the matter followed the news of Apple inking a multi-million dollar deal with Frank Ocean to secure a timed exclusive of his album Blonde, on his own label, Boys Don’t Cry, having released his final album in a Def Jam/UMG contract – the video-driven effort, Endless – in August 2016.
Blonde was released as an Apple Music exclusive just one day later.
Since then Apple Music has signed other deals for artist exclusives, including a partnership with one of Russia’s biggest independent rappers, Scriptonite, on a windowed album release, in May 2021.
Scriptonite’s partnership with Apple Music came less than two years after superstar French rap outfit PNL agreed to their own timed Apple Music exclusive for four tracks as part of a wide-ranging deal with the music streaming platform (in June 2019).
PNL’s partnership with Apple Music proved successful for the independent duo – their four tracks claimed the entire Top 4 of Apple Music’s French chart.
“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.”
Amr Diab
Amr 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.
“I share Anghami’s vision in developing strong local talent and making their voice heard globally.
“This partnership doesn’t stop here – it is the beginning of a much bigger strategic collaboration with Anghami; together we will make some noise.”
“We are committed to providing the best and unique experience to our users and to supporting the local creator community to unlock its full potential, allowing Arabic content to reach the world.”
Eddy Maroun, Anghami
Eddy Maroun, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Anghami, said: “Anghami provides its users with an extensive ecosystem of music, videos, podcasts, events and more – it also empowers creators to curate and share their voice with the world.
“We feel both privileged and honored to partner up with the one and only global Arab megastar Amr Diab and reward fans with his wealth of own label and future music, now available exclusively on Anghami.
“We are committed to providing the best and unique experience to our users and to supporting the local creator community to unlock its full potential, allowing Arabic content to reach the world.
“We will continue to invest in original and exclusive content.”
“Signing a multi-year exclusive license agreement with the top Arabic star is only the beginning of our commitment.”
Mary Ghobrial, Anghami
Mary Ghobrial, Anghami’s Chief Strategy and Operations Officer, said: “We want to provide our users around the world with the best content, and, in addition to offering all international music and podcasts, we are committed to leading on Arabic content and taking it to the global stage.
“Signing a multi-year exclusive license agreement with the top Arabic star is only the beginning of our commitment.
“Amr Diab’s audio and video content will not be accessible on any other streaming platform, and will be made available only for Anghami users for free.”
Anghami listed on the NASDAQ via a merger with Vistas Media Acquisition Company, a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company (SPAC).
The music streaming company entered into a definitive merger agreement with VMAC in March 2021, which values Anghami at $220 million.
It was approved by a majority of VMAC stockholders at a special meeting held on January 19, 2022.
Anghami says that it will become the first Arab Technology company to be listed on NASDAQ and the first Arab company to list on this market in over 25 years
The firm is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, and also has offices in Beirut (where it was previously headquartered), Dubai, Cairo and Riyadh.
Founded in 2012, Anghami claims to be the first music-streaming platform in the MENA regionMusic Business Worldwide
