If you’re in charge of your own music distribution and music promotion we suggest to be on all the music streaming platforms, which for Middle East Streaming Sites means concentrating on Spotify, Anghami, Apple and Deezer.
Spotify has the huge global audiences, Anghami gives you crucial local coverage while Apple Music is a growing force and has the might of Apple behind it. Not forgetting Deezer that has an impressive number of active users and a large library.
Unless you’re hitting hundreds of thousands of streams, you won’t be making any serious money. However with global audiences of hundreds of millions, there’s a huge audience waiting to be exposed to your music promotion so be proactive and get your music up on as many sites as possible.
Like it or loathe it, music streaming is here to stay. And with billions of streams and hundreds of millions of users across the world, it’s the easiest way to reach a huge audience and maximise your music promotion and marketing potential.
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With Spotify now joining the action in the Middle East after it launched late last year, you might be asking which music streaming site is the best for artists and users?
Should you be signing up to local streaming giant Anghami or global names like Spotify, Deezer and Apple Music? Alongside a full rundown of the benefits of each streaming service. As well as how to set up your artist accounts, we’ll also tell you how to get your music onto the streaming platforms in the first place.
You’re signed to a label…
If your music is being released through a record label, they should have a deal in place to get your music onto as many streaming and listening sites as possible. Or your music isn’t up there and you’re signed with a label, start asking questions now. Make sure the label and their music promotion arm are on the ball and making the most of their music streaming.
If you’re an independent artist…
If you’re doing things independently, you’ll need to enlist a company to get you up on the site. They’ll deliver your music to Spotify and collect royalties on your behalf. They’ll then take a percentage of your royalties, with a variety of deals out there. You can check out sites like Distrokid, CD Baby and Tunecore.
You can also get in touch with us at Ma’ana and we’ll manage the delivery, execution and royalties on your behalf. And if you’re part of the Soundcloud Premier package (you’ll need a paid for subscription to be eligible), they’ve recently unveiled a free music distribution platform which uploads to all the big-hitters.
Paid vs free
All streaming services offer a paid-for subscription model where you can get access to their entire back catalogue without any adverts or restrictions. Alternatively, you can sign up to free versions of Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer and Anghami.
But you’ll have to sit and wait through regular adverts. You’ll only have limited access to some of their features which may include no offline listening, limited music recommendations and limited track previews.
If you’re serious about music, it makes sense to sign up. And if you get a family deal you can get great discounts, making it even more affordable.
Spotify
After a seemingly endless wait, Spotify has finally launched in the Middle East and North Africa region, meaning one of the leading streaming platforms is now available in the region. And that’s big news for both music fans and artists as with nearly 200 million users – and rising.
The site is one of the biggest music streaming platforms in the world and essential global music PR, and a vital way for artists to promote their music.
We’ve rounded up the key points you need to know when it comes to creating your Spotify artist account including
#1 How to upload your own content,
#2 The importance of playlists and
#3 Customising your account
Spotify for Artists Account
By using one of the distribution sites, you’ll automatically get a Spotify for Artists Account with a blue verified tick. This means you’re an official artist (congrats) and can now start shaping your online world.
Using either the app or the desktop site (we prefer the desktop as it has more options), you can start making playlists and control what gets high priority on your page.
Start promoting your events, shows and gigs, see where your music is being streamed and take control of your profile including your bio, your social media links and your profile image and even start selling your own merchandise.
Use an email log in
It’s no exaggeration to say that Spotify is where it’s currently at for breaking artists, and with the range of options under your control, it’s not hard to see why.
If you’re doing things 100% your way, make sure not to use your Facebook account when you sign up. If you do, it’ll be linked to your personal FB account. This can make things tricky when you try to add in official pages further down the line.
To avoid this, use an email log in when you set up your account. And every time you access your Spotify profile thereafter.
Playlists are where it’s at
The most important aspect of Spotify is their playlists. They’re the best way to help music promotion and to reach out to new fans. As well as the best way to showcase your music and other artists you champion.
While it’s easy to label these playlists something obvious like ‘New Music 2019,’ being imaginative and creative with your playlists. This will help you reach new listeners.
Maybe try a running playlist, or songs to listen to while driving or a going out collection of songs or songs to cook to or… you get the idea.
Update your playlists regularly, especially if you have new music to promote, and use other sites to push your Spotify account.
Hypeddit do a great range of tools to help drive your content. They help grow your fanbase, including linking your Soundcloud and Spotify accounts so that people wanting your free download have to follow your Spotify account.
Clever clever. Make sure to post your Spotify user artist link across all your social media links and on any press you send out.
Get on other playlists
As well as releasing your own regular playlists, getting your music featured in other prominent playlists can be a huge bonus. It opens up your potential fanbase to thousands of new fans and plays.
Be proactive and approach playlists that might be interested in your music. Send a quick introduction, be polite and friendly and sell yourself in 2-3 sentences. Always take the time to send individual messages, never BCC.
The personal approach will pay off. And make sure it’s a playlist curator that might feature your music. Approaching a popular pop playlist with your metal track/deep house anthem/90s boom bap hip hop track is just a waste of everyone’s time.
And, should you be lucky enough to make it onto one of the big-time playlists with hundreds of millions of hits, be very, very excited.
Get involved in your music promotion
It’s hard to overstate how important getting on Spotify is if you’re an artist in the Middle East. You might not agree with streaming ruling the world, but it does. If you want to be in the music business, you need to adapt and get on board. Also important as major charts around the world now accept video streaming as part of their sales roundups.
Music streaming sites like Spotify and Apple Music have come to dominate the music industry, taking over after physical sales plummeted and the global online reach sky-rocketed.
With over 70 million paid subscribers and nearly 100 million free users, it’s one of the biggest markets artists can reach with very little effort. The competition is fierce with millions of tracks on the site, but as the old cliche goes, you’ve got to be in it to win it.
If you don’t have your profile set up, regularly updated and with a growing army of followers following your every musical move, your chances of music stardom – or even breaking even – are slim to none…
Anghami
Our favourite music promotion platform. With more than 60 million users across the world, Anghami is a huge music streaming platform. For those of us living in the Middle East, it offers the biggest regional platform and user base. Which means it’s a key way to market and promote your music and get it heard by a new audience.
Anghami currently boasts nearly 18 million users in the GCC, 30 million in North Africa and 17 million in the Levant region, so if you want to get your music heard beyond your bedroom or studio and promote your music, getting your music on Anghami is crucial.
Its a local thing
It’s the leading music promotion streaming platform in the Middle East. It is dedicated to covering everything from Lebanese pop, traditional Arabic music, cutting-edge indie, dance music and more.
Founded in 2012, site currently has over 20 million tracks on its database. While it does largely cover Arabic genres, there are a good range of more international styles of music on the site.
The site is free to use and set up your artist profile. Which can then be accessed via their desktop or mobile app.
Like most streaming sites, the artist dashboard is where you get to control what your fans see and hear. You can upload music, review the insights into where your listeners come from, what tracks are most popular and manage your own library.
Once you’ve set up your account, getting your music into the right playlists is key. Anghami have created a wide range of playlists under their Personal DJ banner. These includ everything from Driving Songs to Dabke classics, K Pop, Arab Idol tracks and dozens more.
Another impressive feature is their Radio. The Radio plays a non-stop mix of your favourite genre or artist. While the Friends function lets you follow what your friends are listening.
Anghami might not have the global reach of Spotify and Apple Music, it is the largest music streaming site in the Middle East. By default, one that you need to have your music on. To market your music to as many people as possible and get your music heard by the largest possible audience.
Deezer
With 53 million tracks in their database and growing, Deezer is a main player on the streaming scene. Albeit not quite in the same league as Apple or Spotify.
Like other platforms, you can make your own playlists. They have a wide range of genres covering everything from Top 40 classics to unsigned acts. This is perfect for helping get your music discovered.
As well as nearly 90 million active users, Deezer has a popular radio section with more than 30,00 radio channels. These channels broadcasts a wide range of sounds.
Impressively, the site has also teamed up with Sonos to create Deezer Elite which proves hi-resolution CD quality sound. If lossless music quality is important to you, that will get the most out of high-quality music.
This could be essential if it’s important to you that your music is broadcast at the highest possible quality,
Another music-first initiative is the site comes with its own music equalizer. This means that you can adjust the sound to fit the music playing. Having bass-heavy music can be given more bottom end. As well as jazzy music can be boosted in the middle frequencies.
Like the other streaming sites, getting your music on Deezer is relatively straightforward. This Deezer Guide shows you how to set up your account and what to do if you’re self-publishing your own material.
Once you have your account, you can edit your biography, artist image, favourite music and create playlists. You can also comment on artist profiles and news stories and start interacting with your fanbase.
Apple Music
Keeping on top of your music streaming and music promotion, download sites as an artist is a full-time job. There’s Spotify, Anghami, Soundcloud, Google Play, Youtube – in fact we’ve put together a handy guide rounding up the 8 music sites you need to know.
But one of the biggest to get your head around is Apple Music. Parent company Apple recently became the first company to be valued at a trillion dollars (that’s a dollar sign and a loooooot of zeros after it) and Apple were one of the first to make a move on the music market with their iPods and their music media player iTunes.
So getting in their virtual shop front window with your music is a very good idea indeed. While it might not have the global popularity of the other platforms, it’s still a huge database. This accounts to 56 million users and a library of over 50 million tracks.
Having an artist page
First things first, head to their Artist home page. Here, they outline the benefits of having an artist account. They include real-time stats, interaction with your audience. Along with customizable profiles, discover how listeners came to find your music. Having these benefits, you will be able to get a global overview of where your music is listened to. It is all very valuable data that can help push your career in the right direction. Fans can also like, comment and share on social media or email.
To sign up, you’ll need to have an Apple ID – if you’re part of the Apple family from setting up your iTunes account, you’ll know it already and if not, you can create your own Apple ID and get the process started.
Once you’re logged in, you can then request to manage an artist profile. This means that your music needs to already be part of the iTunes network via a previous release. Find your name under the list of Artists from the drop-down menu, and you can choose your role. Whether you are solo artist, manager or label rep.
Apple will then verify your details and confirm via email you’ve been granted access. You now have control over your Apple Music Artist account. You can now upload 90 minutes of audio, 8-minute long videos and photos.
Monetisation
While you can upload music to this artist page, it won’t be monetised. That only comes from sales and streams on Apple Music and iTunes. But this artist page will let you connect and assist your music promotion. It will also give you another vital way to market your music.
Apple have helpfully put together this guide which gives you more info on the content you can update, how to do it and a series of tips to help get the most out of your Apple Artist account.
To find out more about music promotion, music marketing, how to promote your music and PR services, book in for a free PR consultation with our music industry experts at Ma’ana.
