UAE’s Anghami acquires Spotlight Events to expand footprint

Music and entertainment streaming platform Anghami has announced the acquisition of Spotlight Events, an events management company.

The partnership will see Spotlight Events become Anghami’s arm for live events and concerts, including offline activities and activations to expand Anghami’s footprint in the music and entertainment ecosystem.  The alliance will also enable Anghami to enrich music fans’ experiences with exclusive access to private concerts, VIP lounges, meet & greets and backstage access, in addition to attending concerts either offline or streamed through their devices.

Traditional and virtual concerts will also be accessible either through tickets or sponsored by brands.

“Our vision is to expand from music streaming to a fully integrated entertainment platform that meets our goal of building our own unique category that no other provider can compete with,” said Eddy Maroun, co-founder and CEO of Anghami. “This partnership will allow us to deliver unique experiences to our users while giving artists a stage to perform and reach their fans physically and virtually.”

Spotlight Events recently confirmed its programme of upcoming concerts and events across Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Paris, Cairo and Riyadh. This includes “Beat the Heat”, a seven-concert festival organised in collaboration with the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing – Dubai (DTCM). Also in Abu Dhabi, six concerts are planned for the rest of the year, to be announced later, while a live concert by the Arab superstar Wael Kfoury in Paris is also on the list. Spotlight will be executing all of Anghami’s events, including “Amr Diab Live” and others.

The announcement follows Anghami’s recent IPO on Nasdaq as the first Arab tech company to list on the US stock market and the unveiling of a new brand identity.

Read: UAE’s Anghami, first Arab tech company to list on Nasdaq, begins trading

Anghami reported $35.5m in total revenues for 2021, while its paid subscribers increased to 1.4 million during last year.

Read: Anghami reports revenue of $35.5m in 2021, paid subscribers rise to 1.4 million