Published Online:June 2024
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Entrepreneurship Development
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJED030624
Author Name:K B S Kumar and Indu Perepu
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Management
Download Format:PDF
Pages:18
Abu Dhabi-based music-streaming service Anghami, the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world, was started in Lebanon in 2011 by Elie Habib and his friend Eddy Maroun. They wanted to introduce a digital distribution platform to provide all the music consumers wanted on-demand, without the hassle of having to carry music players or syncing different devices. Anghami brought in several innovations that changed the way people listened to music in the Middle East. These included suggesting tracks to users, conducting virtual concerts, holding interactions with music artists, and including chat windows where users could interact with each other. In less than a decade, Anghami had become the MENA region’s leading music service with 73 million users and more than 30 million songs. In 2021, it shifted its headquarters from Lebanon to Abu Dhabi and then announced listing on the Nasdaq through a Special Purpose Acquisition Company. After the listing, the company went in for a dual CEO structure with a co-CEO joining in from the SAPC, Vistas Media. It remains to be seen if the founders will be able to run the company as before.
In March 2021, Abu Dhabi-based music-streaming service, Anghami, the first legal music streaming platform and digital distribution company in the Arab world, announced its listing on the Nasdaq. This listing was different from the traditional listing as it was done by merging Anghami with Vistas Media Acquisition Company (Vistas Media), a Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC).