Post pandemic, Saudi music events industry finds its groove

Organized by the general entertainment Authority, riyadh season 2021 was held between october 2021 and march 2022. (Ormania)
Organized by the general entertainment Authority, riyadh season 2021 was held between october 2021 and march 2022. (Ormania)
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Updated 22 May 2022

Post pandemic, Saudi music events industry finds its groove

Organized by the general entertainment Authority, riyadh season 2021 was held between october 2021 and march 2022. (Ormania)
  • The sector is set to become the biggest driver of the domestic entertainment business

RIYADH: If the number of events held at the Riyadh Season entertainment festival is any measure of success, then Saudi Arabia’s live music industry is set to become the biggest driver of the domestic entertainment business.

Organized by the General Entertainment Authority, Riyadh Season 2021 was held between Oct. 2021 and March 2022. It witnessed 7,500 diversified entertainment events, including concerts, exhibitions and theatrical shows, both Arab and international.

I’ve never in 30 years worked on a project with such scope. MDLBeast has a vision of excellence at a world- class level, backed up with the effort and determination required to achieve that.

Alex reardon, Creative director at Silent House

The festival featured Egyptian singers Mohamed Ramadan and Tamer Hosny, Bollywood actor Salman Khan and US rapper Pitbull, who attracted an audience of 750,000.

Other KSA-based music events include Riyadh’s annual SoundStorm, now literally the world’s largest Electronic Dance Music festival, in December 2021, and a succession of concerts alongside Jeddah’s recent Formula One races featuring American supergroup the Black Eyed Peas and R&B star Chris Brown, among others. In addition, Mariah Carey, Enrique Iglesias and One Republic have all performed in Saudi Arabia.

As a focal point of the Vision 2030 reform program, the Kingdom’s entertainment sector is seeing over $64 billion in investment, with the live music industry a key beneficiary.




As a focal point of the Vision 2030 reform program, the Kingdom’s entertainment sector is seeing over $64 billion in investment, with the live music industry a key beneficiary. (Getty Images)

According to Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission, a department of the Saudi Ministry of Culture, the Kingdom will create about 65,000 music-related jobs within the next eight years. Moreover, it is working toward enabling the music sector to contribute 1 percent to the Kingdom’s economy by 2030.

Calm after the storm

A prime mover of this burgeoning industry is Jeddah-based MDLBeast, the producer of SoundStorm and Formula One concerts. The company describes itself as “a global music and new media platform with music culture at its core and a home for creators and music lovers.”

One such creator is Michael ‘Curly’ Jobson, a legendary figure in the global live music business. In his youth a guitarist with UK indie band Echo & the Bunnymen, Jobson has been a music tour manager for decades and, in February 2020, was appointed MDLBeast’s Executive Director of Events.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Riyadh Season 2021 was held between October 2021 and March 2022. It witnessed 7,500 diversified entertainment events, including concerts, exhibitions and theatrical shows, both Arab and international.

• The festival featured Egyptian singers Mohamed Ramadan and Tamer Hosny, Bollywood actor Salman Khan and US rapper Pitbull, who attracted an audience of 750,000.

• According to Saudi Arabia’s Music Commission, a department of the Ministry of Culture, the Kingdom will create about 65,000 music-related jobs within the next eight years. Moreover, it is working toward enabling the music sector to contribute 1 percent to the economy by 2030.

“We put on events of any kind — musical, corporate, sports — from the concept to the pitch through to the design, operations and bringing it to fruition,” Jobson told Arab News.

This approach relies upon a host of contractors to provide solutions from plumbing and drainage to laying of asphalt and electrical installations.




Egyptian singer Mohamed Ramadan. (Youtube Screenshot)

SoundStorm, for example, involved Saudi construction firm Al Arrab, Lebanese events services provider Fiesta and Riyadh-based architecture firm Key Design, among many other local and regional firms.

And from Los Angeles came Silent House, a production design firm that conceives and builds staging for global headliners such as Harry Styles, Rihanna and Bruno Mars and which handled the overall design of SoundStorm 2021.

“I’ve never in 30 years worked on a project with such scope,” Silent House creative director Alex Reardon told Arab News. “MDL Beast has a vision of excellence at a world-class level, backed up with the effort and determination required to achieve that.”

Jobson sees the Kingdom’s music events sector in historical terms with reference to its future and its past.

“2030 is the date presented for a particular level of growth in Saudi Arabia, but I’m seeing something a little bit different, which is tourism becoming the lifeblood of the Kingdom, and with tourism comes the demand for entertainment,” he said.

“The Red Sea coastline goes from the Egyptian border to the Yemen, which is akin to the Florida Keys to Canada. And think what happened in the last 300 years up that coastline!

“I’m not sure it’s any different here with the rising population and the increasing numbers of youth with an equally huge appetite for entertainment.

“We need to focus on making Saudi Arabia a regular touring destination – rather than a one-off stop – so that performers go from Athens to Alexandria to Jeddah to Riyadh and then onwards to Asia, Australia and California.”

Raising the bar

Saudi Arabia’s Assistant Minister for Tourism, Princess Haifa bint Mohammed Al-Saud, also sees music and tourism as two mutually supportive revenue streams for the Kingdom in its transition from dependence upon oil to a more diverse and creative economy.

“You are talking about 25 percent of the UK and US population traveling to attend at least one music festival a year,” Princess Haifa said at the XP Music Conference, held in Riyadh in December 2021.

“This tells you where the world is shifting. From hosting 101 concerts in Saudi Arabia in 2019, we are looking at increasing that number by 500 or 600 percent from 2022,” she added.

Clearly, this exponential growth cannot happen without nurturing local talent and expertise. Jobson believes that knowledge transfer and a permanent ecosystem of niche companies — as opposed to the temporary hiring of foreign contractors and equipment — is the only way forward for the Kingdom.

“The western music industry started as a modern business model in the 1950s with recording, publishing and venue management. With that came PA systems, lighting designers, set designers and sound engineers,” said Jobson.

“All of this is a brand-new thing in Saudi Arabia. It’s only a couple of years since the very forward-thinking crown prince has opened it up to us.”

Reardon is optimistic regarding the advent of a fully-fledged music events industry in Saudi Arabia.

“I think the base level commitment to excellence will not change,” he said. “There’s been a huge learning curve for those of us coming from our side of the planet and those in the Kingdom.

“We’re learning from each other and about each other in a very collaborative way, which means that the seedbed for growth is very fertile.

“We can bring our decades of experience and work very well with people in the Kingdom to create successes in live entertainment that would be almost impossible in Western Europe and North America.”

 


Saudi Arabia issues 46 mining licenses in January 

Saudi Arabia issues 46 mining licenses in January 
Updated 20 March 2023

Saudi Arabia issues 46 mining licenses in January 

Saudi Arabia issues 46 mining licenses in January 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources issued 46 new mining licenses in January 2023 – a 33 percent drop compared to the previous month.

The ministry reported that the permits included 31 reconnaissance licenses, 14 building materials quarry licenses, and extra mineral ores license, according to the Saudi Press Agency. 

It also reported that there are 2,230 mining licenses valid in the sector until the end of January 2023, with building materials quarry licenses accounting for 1,331.

This was followed by 647 reconnaissance licenses, and then 178 for mining and minor mine exploitation.

Some 42 were issued for observation, and 32 extra mineral ores licenses were granted. 

Riyadh region gained the most mining licenses in the sector, with 507 permits, followed by the Makkah region with 418 permits. The Eastern Province had 369 licenses, Madinah had 242 and 191 licenses for Asir. 

Saudi Arabia's Tabuk region had 139 licenses, Al-Qassim had 102 licenses, followed by 68 licenses in Hail, Jazan had 65 licenses, Najran was issued with 45, Al-Baha had 37 and the Northern Province area had 25, along with Al-Jouf’s 22 licenses. 

In accordance with the goals of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 and the National Industry Development and Logistics Program, the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources seeks to protect and increase the mining sector’s value. 

To make mining the third pillar of the national economy and seek to harness the Kingdom's mineral resources, which are spread across more than 5,300 sites and are valued at approximately SR5 trillion ($1.33 trillion).


Saudi Arabia’s factory sector sees 50% growth since Vision 2030’s launch: Deputy minister

Saudi Arabia’s factory sector sees 50% growth since Vision 2030’s launch: Deputy minister
Updated 20 March 2023

Saudi Arabia’s factory sector sees 50% growth since Vision 2030’s launch: Deputy minister

Saudi Arabia’s factory sector sees 50% growth since Vision 2030’s launch: Deputy minister

RIYADH: The number of factories in Saudi Arabia has increased 50 percent since the launch of Vision 2030 in 2016, according to the Deputy Minister of Industry and Mineral resources Osama bin Abdulaziz Al-Zamil.

His comments come after figures released last year showed there are now more than 10,000 industrial facilities in the Kingdom, with 1,023 factories starting operations in 2022 alone.

Speaking during the first day of the annual Saudi Industrial Renaissance Forum that took place in the Kingdom’s Al-Yamamah University, Al-Zamil affirmed reliance on the industrial and mining sectors as economic tributaries.

The deputy minister also use his speech at the event to praise the growing Saudi workforce, saying: “The bet today on our young men and women is a big and winning bet as they are the largest percentage in this country, which makes them the basic base for our transformation and change in all fields and their exceptional capabilities and permanent ambition for positive change constitute a great force for the success of the Kingdom’s vision programs and contribute to the development of the homeland.”

The Saudi Industrial Renaissance Forum focused on the vital role that the industry plays in developing and diversifying the national economy which also contributes to achieving the economic and social goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030.

“The forum brings together a group of speakers, experts and interested persons with specialization in lectures, discussion sessions, working papers sessions and refereed research papers on many topics, and witnesses a number of important sessions,” said Hussam bin Muhammad Ramadan, Al-Yamamah University president and chairman of the organizing committee. 


Paddy Padmanathan steps down as ACWA Power CEO after 18 years

Paddy Padmanathan steps down as ACWA Power CEO after 18 years
Updated 20 March 2023

Paddy Padmanathan steps down as ACWA Power CEO after 18 years

Paddy Padmanathan steps down as ACWA Power CEO after 18 years

RIYADH: ACWA Power’s CEO Suntharesan 'Paddy' Padmanathan resigned on Monday, reported the Saudi Stock Exchange.

The board accepted Padmanathan’s resignation, and welcomed Marco Arcelli, an energy leader with over 30 years of experience, as the new CEO, revealed ACWA Power.    

Arcelli was previously chairman at Europe’s seventh largest electricity producer Ep New Energy, and had worked at Enel for 16 years where he was CEO of Enel North America and Slovenske Elektrarne.   

ACWA Power assured that Padmanathan will remain in the company serving as a member of the board of directors.   

In a statement, the company thanked the resigning CEO for his 18 years of service, and “his dedication during that period to elevate the company’s status as a leading global company in the field of renewable power generation, water desalination and green hydrogen production which culminated by its successful listing as a public company.”  

ACWA Power is Saudi Arabia’s leading utility service provider with a net profit of SR1.5 billion ($411 million) in 2022, according to a bourse filing. The company reported 103 percent increase in its profits from the previous year.   

In 2021, the Public Investment Fund-backed firm reported a net profit of SR758.8 million.   

The bourse filing further noted that the company’s fourth quarter net profit after zakat and tax surged 94 percent to SR656.6 million, compared to SR338.85 million in the previous year. 

According to the bourse statement, the firm’s financial results in 2022 were backed by higher operating income before impairment and other expenses.   

The profits were also driven by higher contributions from development and construction management services for the projects which achieved financial close last year, adequately supported by lower project development costs.   


Closing bell: TASI rises 60 points 

Closing bell: TASI rises 60 points 
Updated 20 March 2023

Closing bell: TASI rises 60 points 

Closing bell: TASI rises 60 points 

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index increased 60.39 points on Monday – or 0.59 percent – to close at 10,218.12.

MSCI Tadawul 30 Index inched up 0.69 percent to 1,386.65, and the parallel market, Nomu, slightly edged down by 0.05 percent closing at 18,968.30.   

TASI’s total trading turnover of the benchmark index was SR4.56 billion ($1.21 billion) as 111 stocks of the listed 224 advanced and 95 receded.    

Themar Development Holding Co. was the top gainer of the day, closing the trading session up 9.91 percent at SR44.35 

The second-best performer was Alima Tokio Marine Co., increasing 9.70 percent to SR14.48.   

Elm was the third-best performer, rising 7.67 percent - or 31 points – to SR435, compared to its opening at SR404. 

Other top performers of the day were Dar Alarkan Real Estate Development Co., and Makkah Construction and Development Co. 

The biggest faller of the day was BinDawood Holding Co., which slipped by 2.96 percent to SR52.5.  

Nahdi Medical Co. is the next worst performer of the day, decreasing by 2.48 percent to SR181. 

The other poor performers were Gulf Insurance Group, Alinma Hospitality REIT Fund, and Jabal Omar Development Co. 

Non-institutional foreign investors, excluding Saudi Aramco, reduced their stake in Tadawul-listed stocks to 10.45 percent, or SR281.79 billion, which is represented by swap holders, residents, and qualified foreign investors. 

On an announcement front, Saudi National Bank's share price increased by 3.86 percent, closing at SR44.4. The bank also said in a statement that the changes in the valuation of SNB’s investment in Credit Suisse have no impact on SNB’s growth plans. 

Rawasi Albina Investment Co. announced its annual financial results for 2022, reporting a 19.54 percent increase in its net profit to SR20.8 million. Moreover, Rawasi’s share price climbed 11.98 percent, closing at SR80. 

Perfect Presentation for Commercial Services Co. also announced a tremendous increase in net profit by 63.06 percent to SR131.4 million. The company’s shares closed 3.55 up at SR175. 

CHUBB Arabia Cooperative Insurance Co. reported a 12.54 percent decrease in net profit to almost SR13.4 million compared to SR15.3 million in 2021. CHUBB’s share price decreased 0.24 percent to close at SR16.48. 

The company correlated the decline to an increase in General and Administrative Expenses an increase in Policy Acquisition Costs in higher drilling utilization and an increase in daily rate, notably in the offshore segment   

Dallah Healthcare Co. reported a net profit of SR274 billion, up 6.13 percent compared to 2021. Dallah attributed the increase to a revenue increase of 18.18 percent in 2022 to SR2.4 billion. The healthcare company’s share price slightly decreased by 0.56 percent, closing at SR141.6. 

Saudi Reinsurance Co. also announced its financial results for 2022 and reported a net loss of SR1.6 million, down 58.1 percent compared to almost SR4 million in 2021. However, its share price increased by 1.66 percent to SR14.7 per share. 


Aramco, DHL form new procurement and logistics hub JV

Aramco, DHL form new procurement and logistics hub JV
Updated 20 March 2023

Aramco, DHL form new procurement and logistics hub JV

Aramco, DHL form new procurement and logistics hub JV

RIYADH: The Saudi Arabian Oil Co., also known as Saudi Aramco, announced a new end-to-end procurement and logistics hub joint venture with logistics firm DHL Supply Chain. 

Expected to be operational in 2025, the JV aims to initially focus on the Saudi market, with plans to expand across the Middle East and North Africa region.  

The new venture aims to provide top-notch integrated procurement and logistics services to further enhance supply chain efficiency as well as sustainability in the region, the company said in a press release.   

The JV, which the company said is the first-of-its-kind hub, will provide reliable and sturdy end-to-end services to customers within the industrial, energy, chemical, and petrochemical sectors.  

“This partnership brings together two industry leaders, each with long and storied histories,” said Aramco President and CEO Amin Nasser.  

By combining the exceptional energy, chemicals and industrial supply chain ecosystem of Aramco with the shipping and logistics expertise of DHL, he said they aim to enable the procurement and logistics hub joint venture to serve as a one-stop hub for customers’ supply chain needs.  

“We anticipate that it will not only advance the economic goals of our two companies but also accelerate growth across Saudi Arabia and the MENA region,” the CEO emphasized.   

DHL Supply Chain CEO Oscar de Bok added: “By working in partnership with Aramco, we aim to provide regional and multinational businesses from these sectors access to a robust international logistics network, fostering positive economic growth while promoting sustainable activities.”