Sony Music Masterworks, a division of Sony Music Entertainment (SME), has acquired a majority stake in MAC Global, a concert promotion, talent management, events and production company based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Founded in 2014 by Rob McIntosh and Daniel Goldberg, Sony says that MAC Global has brought touring acts to the region such as Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, Drake and Sia, among others.
Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records, and Masterworks Broadway imprints
With clients including Dubai Opera, Saudi Aramco, Al Dana Amphitheatre and Coca-Cola Arena, MAC Global produces concerts across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, India and Saudi Arabia.
Day-to-day operations of the company will continue to be led by McIntosh and Goldberg, who in turn will work closely with Mark Cavell, President of Sony Music Masterworks, Josh Lerman, Masterworks Senior Vice President of Business Development and Ollie Rosenblatt, Managing Director of Senbla.
With this agreement, Sony Music Masterworks says that it is further expanding its presence in live music and event production around the world.
MAC Global’s remit will also expand to include comedy, sports, virtual events, orchestral events, and immersive movie experiences.
Today’s announcement coincides with the start of MAC Global’s new concert season. Two shows by George Ezra and EDM star Tiesto have already successfully “sold to capacity”, according to Sony, while Lewis Capaldi is set to perform in both Dubai and Bahrain in the coming weeks.
Sony says that the relationship with MAC Global is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships and agreements “advancing Sony Music Masterwork’s growth as a multi-faceted worldwide entertainment business”.
Other recent investments include The Luna Cinema, UK-based producer of open air, pop-up, and drive-in cinema experiences; Seaview, a theatrical production company; Terrapin Station Entertainment, an artist management and production company; RoadCo Entertainment, a booking agency; Backyard Cinema, an experiential cinema event producer; GEA Live, a Holland-based agent and promoter; Senbla, a UK-based concert promotion and production company; and Raymond Gubbay Ltd. (RGL), the music, dance & Christmas Light Trail promoter.
“We are thrilled to partner with Rob, Dan and the MAC Global team to bring the best in live entertainment to the Middle East and North Africa.
Mark Cavell, Sony Music Masterworks
Cavell said: “We are thrilled to partner with Rob, Dan and the MAC Global team to bring the best in live entertainment to the Middle East and North Africa.
“Their unrivalled experience in the MENA region combined with Sony Music’s wealth of expertise, resources, and broad portfolio of live entertainment properties will provide enhanced benefit to touring artists, productions, and audiences alike.”
“We are very much looking forward to working with Mark Cavell and the wider Masterworks team to develop new event intellectual properties alongside our core vision of bringing the biggest names in entertainment to the MENA region and beyond.”
Rob McIntosh and Daniel Goldberg
McIntosh and Goldberg added: “Having established the MAC Global brand over many years, ensuring its position at the forefront of the live music industry in the Middle East, we’re excited to take our company to the next level of development and growth by joining the Sony Music Masterworks family.
“We are very much looking forward to working with Mark Cavell and the wider Masterworks team to develop new event intellectual properties alongside our core vision of bringing the biggest names in entertainment to the MENA region and beyond.”Music Business Worldwide
