The Saudi-based music entertainment company, MDLBEAST, has confirmed an agreement with ESMAA, the Gulf-based music rights management organization, to support regional and international music artists and composers by ensuring they receive payment for the use of their work played at SOUNDSTORM, XP music conference, and on BEAST TV.
Prior to ESMAA, there was no regional entity available to ensure music creators and rights holders were paid when their music was played in venues or in facilities in the Gulf region.
MDLBEAST’s ESMAA agreement is a significant moment in the evolution of the regional music scene with the Saudi-based company representing one of the most exciting movements in the industry.
MDLBEAST have agreed a performance license fee with ESMAA to ensure artists and composers who have their music played at MDLBEAST’s SOUNDSTORM, XP music conference, BEAST TV, or venues receive a payment for that usage. Similarly, as MDLBEAST is a rights holder through MDLBEAST Records, the company and their talent will receive payment when their music is used by other organizations who are also signed up to ESMAA.
Commenting on the agreement, MDLBEAST’s Chief Operating Officer and Head of Talent Booking and Events, Talal Albahiti, said, “Ultimately we want to grow the music industry in the region and the best way to do that is to make sure it is economically viable for artists and composers to create the sounds we all want to hear. ESMAA is that solution for the Gulf. At MDLBEAST, we certainly want to see creators getting fair reward for their work wherever the music is played, and for us that is two-fold; we pay to ensure any time we use an artist’s tracks during our licensed events, they get paid, and as a rights holder we receive payment when our artists’ music is used by other media and events, and we pass that payment on.”
He added, “We believe that there has never been a more exciting time for the music industry in the Middle East and the agreement with ESMAA is a really important step towards sustainable growth and fair representation for talent globally.”
By committing to this licensing agreement and using innovative music recognition tech, MDLBEAST is putting the artists first and ensuring license fees are distributed back to the owners of the music rights. Additionally, MDLBEAST will now be able to provide precise data and market insights for artists, composers, rights owners, and global PROs about Saudi and the region’s biggest music festival. This agreement is supported by music technology leaders BMAT who are able to track and fingerprint all music performed at SOUNDSTORM ’21, monitoring 8 stages with over 200 DJ sets and live act performances – a clear indicator of the growth and value of the market.
ESMAA Founder and CEO Hussain ‘Spek’ Yoosuf commenting on the deal said, “Saudi Arabia’s music scene is undergoing incredible change at the moment and MDLBEAST are right at the front of that. It is a watershed moment as music rights holders will be paid performance royalties for the first time for uses within Saudi Arabia, and we commend MDLBEAST for taking the necessary steps to respect creators.”
ESMAA is a stand-alone subsidiary of PopArabia, the independent music company based in Abu Dhabi, UAE.
