Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf performs in Sharjah’s Al Majaz Amphitheatre on February 8. Courtesy Al Majaz Amphitheatre
Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf performs in Sharjah’s Al Majaz Amphitheatre on February 8. Courtesy Al Majaz Amphitheatre
Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf performs in Sharjah’s Al Majaz Amphitheatre on February 8. Courtesy Al Majaz Amphitheatre
Palestinian singer Mohammed Assaf performs in Sharjah’s Al Majaz Amphitheatre on February 8. Courtesy Al Majaz Amphitheatre

Mohammed Assaf says Saudi Arabian live market is a boon for singers


Saeed Saeed
  • English
  • Arabic

Saudi Arabia is fast becoming the biggest game in town, according to Palestinian pop star Mohammed Assaf.

The singer made the comments on Friday before a sold out show, alongside veteran Lebanese crooner Ragheb Alama, at Sharjah’s Al Majaz Amphitheatre.

Talking to The National a few minutes before stepping on stage, Assaf said the opening up of the Saudi Arabian entertainment industry resulted in plenty of touring opportunities for Arab musicians across the board.

Such was the enthusiasm that his recent concert in the capital Riyadh on January 29 was abandoned midway due to crowd over capacity – Assaf took to social media to promise the fans that he will return next month with an even bigger show.

“That was really a safety issue in terms of the fans. I wasn’t concerned at all for my safety from stage but we were worried about the size of the crowd,” he says.

“To be honest with you, that is an issue more to do with the organisers of that concert. They underestimated the number of people who coming to the show and that caused these challenges. But I want to tell my Saudi fans that I will return to Jeddah next month and this time I will play two shows. I am very excited about that.”

Saudi fans are the most engaged

Indeed, with the increasing expansion of the kingdom's live music industry – which included the region's first hologram concert by the late Umm Kulthum in January in the desert city of Al Ula, diva Mariah Carey performing in King Abdullah Economic City on January 3, and with reports of upcoming shows featuring hip-hop stars Jay Z and DJ Khaled – more Arab popstars are making their way for fully fledged tours that includes stops in the major cities Riyadh, Jeddah and Khobar.

This month will see the Egyptian star Tamer Hosny performing in Jeddah’s KAEC Hall on February 22, while Syrian diva Assala Nasri teased a February performance in Riyadh on her Instagram yesterday.

While some music promoters are still coming to grips with bringing big concerts to Saudi Arabia, Assaf believes there is nothing pensive about the crowds.

“Are you kidding me? The crowds and fans in Saudi Arabia are among the best,” he said.

“First of all, when it comes to my fans, they are the ones that are the most engaged in social media. They know all about my career and what I am doing. You really can’t ask for better fans than that really.”

Assaf is not surprised that Saudi Arabian music lovers have been flocking to all major music performances over the last 18 months. However, he dismisses the suggestion that it is purely down to a hunger for live entertainment.

“It is more than that. I partly agree there is a sense of people finally being more loose now, but a lot of it is down to the Saudi people having a deep appreciation for arts and culture from poetry, books and music. That love for the arts has always been there and that also needs to be acknowledged.”

A big year for Assaf

More Saudi shows is part of what promises to be a busy year for Assaf on and off the stage. Already two months into year, he has already completed a tour of Canada in addition to working on some new music.

In his wider address to the press, Assaf won’t confirm any titles or whether a third album is on the way. However, he states that a single will be released as early as next month.

This would be the first new song since Assaf scored a major hit with the Iraqi pop stylings of Makanak Khaly. Interestingly, with the track amassing over 60 million views on YouTube, Assaf did not release an official accompanying video for the song as of yet and, instead, relied on a lyric video featuring a series of images of Assaf.

The singer admits this feature could be the way forward for now.

“I have a different opinion when it comes to shooting videos,” he said. “It is a nice concept of course and people enjoy them. But as an artist I can’t really say that this could really elevate the song. What does that is the music and the lyrics.

"If they are good enough, then the song will reach the people wherever they are. I knew that Makanak Khaly was special because as I soon as I read the lyrics and heard some of the music it moved me."

Talking about movement, Assaf says he is presently on a health kick which he hopes will be a way of life. Conscious of his young fan base, he recently posted a sweaty photo of himself after a work-out session.

“I wanted to send that message about the importance of health,” he said.

“I view it as responsibility for both myself and the fans. It’s about doing things, no matter, how small, consistently.”

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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