ABU DHABI: Regional music streaming platform Anghami has signed a deal with Arab superstar Amr Diab.
The exclusive partnership will see Anghami featuring the artist’s entire catalog, including past and future releases, under his record label Ney.
In 2019, Diab became the first Arab music artist to see his face featured on a billboard in New York City’s iconic Times Square thanks to a partnership with Spotify.
However, since the announcement of the deal, the star has begun deleting music from other platforms such as Apple Music, Spotify and YouTube.
Anghami said in a statement that Diab is their No. 1 artist with close to 1 billion streams.
“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,” said Diab.
“This partnership doesn’t stop here — it is the beginning of a much bigger strategic collaboration with Anghami; together we will make some noise!”
The announcement comes just weeks after Anghami’s historic listing on the US Nasdaq Stock Market, making it the first Arab tech company to become publicly traded.
“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,” said Eddy Maroun, co-founder and CEO of Anghami.
The company plans to continue to invest in original and exclusive content, he added.
“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,” said Mary Ghobrial, chief strategy and operations officer, Anghami.
Diab’s audio and video content will not be accessible on any other streaming platform, and will be available only to Anghami users for free, she added.
