MUMBAI: Sony Music Entertainment has launched operations in Dubai. Dubbed Sony Music Entertainment Middle East, the Dubai office has been established to cover the regional market, says Sony Music Entertainment Asia president Daniel DiCicco.
The Middle East operations will promote content by signed international artistes from the United States, India and the Philippines. The label also plans signing regional artistes and distributing their music around the world.
Media reports quote DiCocco as saying, “Even in these challenging economic times, there continues to be opportunities for expanding the reach and influence of our Sony Music artists around the globe via both traditional and innovative avenues.”
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The opening of an office in Dubai is a response to these opportunities and a sign of our commitment to the further development of our content and artist representation in the global arena. Additionally, with this new presence in Dubai, we are ideally situated to capitalize on opportunities with our nearby Sony Music India office and grow interest in regional artist events and the live-event/branding business developed by our Asian regional team,… he adds.
The new operation will be responsible for managing SME’s presence in the growing Middle Eastern markets, including Egypt and the Arabic Levant countries of Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, and capitalizing on significant digital and live-event opportunities arising in the region.
Kevin Ridgely, managing director of Sony Music’s former offices in Beirut and Cairo will look at the operations in Dubai and report to DiCocco. A graduate of the University of Illinois and the Middlebury Arabic Language program, Ridgely was also instrumental in the merger of the Sony Music and BMG offices in Brazil.
Top artistes signed with the company include Michael Jackson, Celine Dion, the estate of Elvis Presley, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, while pop artistes include Shakira, Britney Spears, Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and P!nk.
