Six years after Anghami-Lebanon was established in 2011, the international streaming service Spotify debuted in the Gulf region. With a user base of 15 million, Anghami was the first to introduce audio streaming to the region.
“Anghami is committed to supporting young and local talents, which gives the platform an advantage that no other platform has in the region, and automatically makes it closer to both users and artists,” the Content Market Lead at the company Nour Reda told TRENDS.
But the challenge both the streaming services are facing is the piracy.
Claudius Boller, Spotify’s Managing Director for the Middle East and North Africa told TRENDS that the company’s biggest competitor is piracy.
“Back in 2006, when Spotify started its journey, the music industry was collapsing because of piracy. Fifteen years later, we are more committed than ever—still believing audio first and still wanting to be the soundtrack of our listeners’ daily moments,” Boller said.
In the MENA region, Spotify also came up with a local team that understands the needs of regional music creators and listeners. The company also gives local listeners access to more than 70 million songs and 3.2 million podcast titles.
Challenges in UAE and Saudi Arabia
Anghami sees the region as relatively untapped in terms of a market for music.
“We are there supporting Saudi talents and promoting their music on our platform as we believe in growing talents rather than waiting for them to grow independently,” Reda said.
On the other hand, Spotify sees Saudi Arabia as a new opportunity while the UAE has been easy to tap into; as 9 out of every ten people in the country are expats.
“In our first year in the market, Spotify quickly became the leading audio streaming player in the UAE,” Boller said. “Looking ahead, we’re very much excited about the innovation this market continues to bring and see further growth for Spotify on the horizon”.
Anghami: A Group Activity
The platform is developing social features that will enhance the listening experience of friends and family members and create communities on the platform. In the future, Reda mentioned, Anghami is expecting “to see the emergence of a lot of new genres that will not only become successful on a regional level but also will make it to global charts.”
Spotif looks for local partnerships
Spotify will also be supporting Arab music creators in 2022, which is the primary purpose of its partnership with the Dubai Press Club. And more partnerships are on the way this year. The platform will focus on growing the market by creating a healthy industry value chain, driving opportunities for its partners, including labels, creators, and brands.
“There is immense opportunity for growth in transitioning users from a mindset of piracy towards streaming music, and we are focused on that,” Boller said.