Warner Music has inked a partnership with Saudi-headquartered digital multimedia-technology, content creation, and production company Merwas to establish a new Riyadh-based record label.
The companies said they will collaborate to sign, develop, and promote both “established superstar acts and the most promising up-and-coming artists, using their networks and expertise to help them leverage their talent across the MENA region and around the world”.
Merwas opened what it claims to be the largest recording studio in the world in 2022. The company says the facility was quickly dubbed “the entertainment factory”.
The new label marks WMG’s latest move in the MENA region.
In 2023, for example, Warner Music Group made a strategic investment in HuManagement, a GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) based talent agency.
Other investments made by Warner in the MENA region in recent years include, in 2021, its acquisition of a minority stake in Rotana Music, which is claimed to be the largest record label in the Middle East.
And in 2022, Warner Music completed its acquisition of Qanawat Music, which operates as a music distributor across the Middle East and North Africa.
In 2024, recorded music revenues in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) egion jumped 22.8% from a year earlier, making it the fastest-growing region globally, according to data from the IFPI. Streaming in the MENA region accounted for 99.5% of total revenues.
“The Middle East and North Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions for the music industry, and this deal expands our presence at the heart of it.”
Ahmed Nureni, Warner Music MENA
Ahmed Nureni, General Manager, Warner Music MENA, said: “The Middle East and North Africa is one of the fastest-growing regions for the music industry, and this deal expands our presence at the heart of it.
“The incredible next-generation facilities offered by Merwas, combined with Warner Music’s artist development expertise and global reach, offers artists from across the region a platform like no other.”
“We’re delighted with the partnership and to turbocharge the careers of some of the most exciting artists from our region by providing them the reach to the world.”
Rumayyan Alrumayan, Merwas
Rumayyan Alrumayan, Managing Director, Merwas, added: “MENA has been a sleeping giant in the global music industry, but with almost half a billion Arabic speakers and increasing sign-ups to the digital music services, we’re waking up fast.
“We’re delighted with the partnership and to turbocharge the careers of some of the most exciting artists from our region by providing them the reach to the world.”Music Business Worldwide