Tag: music

Music Video Service Vevo Plans To Launch In The Middle East

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VEVOVevo, the music video service, that was founded by Sony Music Entertainment and Universal Music Group, in partnership with the Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC), has plans to launch the service in the Middle East in the first quarter of 2011, according to The National.

Vevo was launched in the US in December 2009, and now ranks fourth in terms of the number of viewers watching videos, behind Google, Yahoo! and Fox Interactive Media, attracting 43.6 million viewers in April, according to comScore.

The version to be launched in the region, which is provisionally being called Vevo Arabia, will most probably have broader content than the US version, including Arabic, Bollywood, Filipino and Chinese music to appeal to the different tastes of consumers in the region.

Vevo is estimated to have 85% of all music videos on its platform, largely because of its position as a Web platform for music giants Sony, Universal and EMI, who provide the website with licensed videos of their artists.

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Shawshara, An Online Encyclopedia For Arabic Music

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ShawsharaShawshara is a community based project aimed at collecting and documenting all aspects of Arabic music in an online encyclopedia.

Shawshara is set up as a wiki based platform enabling anyone to add and modify the contents of any page, without the interference of site administrators, in order to enrich the content and grow the database.

The site currently contains over 25 Arabic artists, their biographies and discographies that translate into several hundred albums, and over 700 song pages which include the song’s lyrics, lyrics translated into English and other languages, transliteration and videos.

Shawshara

The site interface is presented in both English and Arabic, and so is the content, which is translated and transliterated into English, and in some cases into other languages as well.

Shawshara was founded by Waseem Sayegh, a Palestinian, currently living and studying in Canada.
It is powered by MediaWiki, the same open source software that runs Wikipedia.

Du Launches Full Track ‘Music on Demand’ Service In The UAE

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duDu, the integrated telecom operator in the UAE, just announced the availability of Music on Demand, an online music service which allows du customers to download full track music content.

The initial launch of Music on Demand features over 2000 songs from Rotana’s leading Arabic artists, such as Husain Al Jassmi, Amr Diab, Elissa, Najwa Karam, Shireen and many more, made available for du customers to download on their mobile handsets or personal computers. All du customers who register for Music on Demand will receive free full track music downloads worth AED18.

du plan to grow their full track music library soon, to allow customers to download music from other genres and regions of the world through partnering with leading content providers.

Rotana, the leading provider of Arabic entertainment content in the region, signed an exclusive agreement with du in 2008 to offer all content from its library to du’s customers in the UAE. For as little as AED 6, du customers can purchase full music tracks via 3 new exciting channels – a web portal, a Mobile client, or a PC application. Once songs are purchased, customers can download the same song on any of these 3 channels mentioned above, making this an industry leading “Music on Demand” offering.

All the customer needs to do is to register at the website to get access to the service and start downloading music, streaming audio and video from Rotana channels and have access to the latest buzz and gossip in the Arabic entertainment world.

Nokia Music Store Officially Goes Live In The UAE

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As planned and previously announced here, Nokia went live with their Music Store in the United Arab Emirates a couple of days ago, the first in the Middle East and twelfth globally.

The online store can be accessed at http://music.nokia.ae, and boasts a comprehensive catalog from four main international labels – Universal, Sony BMG, Warner and EMI – as well as Arab label Rotana and content aggregator Qanawat. 

Once subscribers set up an account on the site, they can access the Nokia Music Store via their computer using the freely downloadable Nokia Music for PC software, which allows users to manage their music, create playlists and synchronise their music library with their Nokia device. Users can also access the software directly from compatible devices, and listen to a 30 second clip of any track on the store before buying it.

Nokia Music Store

Individual tracks, irrespective of language or genre, will cost AED 3 and complete albums will be priced at AED 30. Additionally, subscribers can also enjoy unlimited PC streaming of the entire online catalog at a competitive price of just AED 20 per month.

Fresh tracks and albums will be added periodically, with specially compiled playlists, specific to the region, to help music fans discover more.

The UAE was selected for its high internet penetration and statistics showing that an important percentage of the target audience is comfortable shopping online.

Purchased songs are Windows Media DRM protected, with no limits on the number of transfers for a song, but with a maximum of 10 CDs to be burnt. 

# music.nokia.ae

Getmo Arabia To Bring Digital Downloads To The Middle East

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GetmoArvato Middle East Sales and Abu Dhabi Media Company yesterday announced the launch of Getmo Arabia, a new digital media platform for the Middle East and Africa, at the MECOM 2008 conference in Abu Dhabi.

Getmo Arabia will offer services direct to consumers through www.getmo.com where customers can download over three million songs, videos, movies, games and ringtones in English, Arabic and other Asian languages to their mobile phones & home computers.

The content will be available to users at significantly reduced rates, in hopes to kickstart a new era in the market for mobile & PC entertainment in the region.

Abu Dhabi Media Company also announced a partnership with Sony BMG, in which the record label will provide local and Arabic content for the platform, which can be accessed via PC or mobile.

Getmo Arabia is set to service the 33 million internet users and 80 million mobile phone users in the Middle East region.

At the time of this article’s publication, the getmo.com website is still not accessible online.

# More: Zawya, ITP