At our June event, CoE E-Commerce, Abed Agha, Founder and CEO of Vinelab, moderated a panel on The World of E-Commerce, Beyond Physical Goods. Agha interviews panelists Fares Akkad, Head of Digital Business Development at MBC, Nour Khrais, Founder and CEO of Maysalward, Eli Habib, Co-Founder and CTO of Anghami, and Karim Sarkis, CEO of Sync Media about trends in the MENA entertainment industry including music and gaming.

In Part 1, Akkad discusses how MBC is spreading their reach through music competition shows including Arab Idol, Arabs Got Talent, and The Voice. He explains that today monetizing music is a challenge, but usually “the lifecycle of an artist depends on how monetizable they are.”

Habib explains the challenges of music marketing that Anghami faces. “We face a music taste problem,” he reveals, “The most popular artist in Lebanon may not be popular in Saudi Arabia” – it is critical to have a targeted marketing strategy and recommendations for users.

Khrais discusses Maysalward’s game development, a strategy of creating and disseminating “simple, fun, and free games.” In today’s mobile gaming market, Maysalward does not refer to mobile gamers as gamers, but as users. The average user today wants an easy-to-understand platform that transcends borders and state boundaries – everyone can have fun with a simple card game or puzzle.