Designed to bolster Soundstripe’s catalog, the camps represent the company’s ongoing expansion into regional genres and sounds, music that is increasingly in demand from creatives worldwide. “Arabic music and music from the MENA region is rapidly gaining popularity, and we’ve seen an uptick in requests on Soundstripe,” says Jeff Perkins, Soundstripe’s CEO. “As part of our overall global strategy, we wanted more original music from the region in our catalog and wanted to expand in the most artist-friendly way possible. PopArabia was the perfect partner.”

Together, Soundstripe and PopArabia are assembling artists and songwriters from UAE, Egypt, Algeria, Morocco, Iraq, Lebanon, and Sudan, giving them creative prompts with universal resonance and encouraging them to add their own cultural influences and sounds. At their first camp earlier this year, they collaborated in pairs and small ensembles to create new tracks over the course of several days. The resulting 23 songs will become part of Soundstripe’s catalog.

"The camp was a true highlight,” exclaims camp participant Assouad, one half of ISSA & ASSOUAD, genre-shaping artists who regularly play for tens of thousands of fans, as well as produce hits for regional superstars (Wegz, Sherya Ghoshal, ElGrandetoto). “The talent, focus, and collaborative spirit were exceptional, and the results speak for themselves."

The choice of regions was a logical one for Soundstripe, and the camps reflect PopArabia’s mission, with support from Abu Dhabi’s Creative Media Authority. “The Middle East is one of the fastest-growing music markets in the world, and we’re witnessing the emergence of a vibrant regional sound that is resonating with global creatives and agencies,” explains Hussain (Spek) Yoosuf, Founder and CEO of PopArabia. “PopArabia sees this writing camp as a natural extension of our mission to support a thriving ecosystem for music in the UAE and the wider region and grow real opportunities for our region’s artists.” 

“These camps underscore two realities: human-made music has never been more essential, and the world, including its music, is more connected than ever,” explains Josh Collum, Soundstripe’s VP of Music. “Soundstripe was founded by musicians, and we remain committed to creating real music with real artists. The result for our customers is one-of-a-kind songs that will make their projects standout from the rest.” 

About Soundstripe

Based in Nashville, Soundstripe is the premier music licensing company for  creative industries. The company was founded in 2016 by three professional musicians as a subscription licensing service for freelancers, and has since expanded to serve the entire creator economy, advertising professionals, production companies, and large enterprises. The company has worked with over 1.5 million users globally, facilitated over 20 million licensed downloads, and its music has been streamed over 400 billion times across platforms. Soundstripe’s diverse catalog contains over 58,000 owned audio tracks, 100,000 sound effects, and 100,000 video clips. 

About PopArabia

PopArabia is an independent music company, label and publisher founded in 2011 by Canadian hip-hop pioneer, music executive and entrepreneur Spek, in partnership with twofour54, the Abu Dhabi media zone that is home to the region’s entertainment industry. As a sub publisher, PopArabia represents the world’s leading music catalogs across the MENA territories and has pioneered music licensing in the region. In 2020, PopArabia announced a partnership and joint venture with New York headquartered Reservoir to sign and develop regional talent to export Arabic music around the world. PopArabia also launched ESMAA later that year, a rights management entity working with rights organizations, licensing performance, mechanical and neighbouring rights in the Gulf states. 

Images: Courtesy of Creative Media Authority, Abu Dhabi"

Images: Courtesy of Creative Media Authority, Abu Dhabi"