Tunisian pop star Latifa has teamed up with global music streamer Spotify to launch Sawtik, an initiative that promotes Arabic female singing talent across the region. Getty Images, Instagram
Tunisian pop star Latifa has teamed up with global music streamer Spotify to launch Sawtik, an initiative that promotes Arabic female singing talent across the region. Getty Images, Instagram
Tunisian pop star Latifa has teamed up with global music streamer Spotify to launch Sawtik, an initiative that promotes Arabic female singing talent across the region. Getty Images, Instagram
Tunisian pop star Latifa has teamed up with global music streamer Spotify to launch Sawtik, an initiative that promotes Arabic female singing talent across the region. Getty Images, Instagram

Music

Sawtik: Tunisian pop star Latifa teams up with Spotify to champion female Arab artists

The initiative is aimed at amplifying female musical talent across the Middle East and North Africa

Gemma White

November 19, 2020

  • English
  • Arabic

In the same week that Apple launched its New Artists: Middle East playlist, audio streaming giant Spotify has unveiled its Sawtik initiative to uncover and promote Arabic female singing talent across the Middle East and North Africa.

Partnering with Tunisian superstar Latifa Bint Alaya El Arfaoui, along with other influential women in the music business, Sawtik, which means “your voice” in Arabic, aims to amplify the voices of women both currently in the music industry, and those hoping to get their foot in the door, by making it easier for labels and fans to discover them.

“As an Arab female artist myself, I have witnessed how difficult it is to pursue a career in music,” said Lynn Fattouh, Spotify's consumer marketing manager in Middle East and Africa.

“Our journey to create a more inclusive creative ecosystem in Mena’s music industry has just begun, and we hope that these initial steps and actions will help push these conversations forward and lead to positive and lasting changes for female creators.”

Along with the launch of Sawtik, Spotify has created a regional campaign highlighting the musical and cultural contribution of female artists. Singers, including Emirati talent Almas, Sirine Miled from Tunisia and the Moroccan-Egyptian Perrie El Hariri, have taken the top spot on more than 18 of the streamer's flagship playlists, including Arab X and Arab Hip-Hop.

Latifa will also be working in a mentoring capacity with female artists, offering advice on breaking into and staying atop the music business.

“I’m grateful that Sawtik exists and I get to be a part of it,” says Cairo-born rapper Felukah, one of the emerging artists highlighted in the initiative. “Spotify has been instrumental in my growth as an artist, I’m really excited to both share and discover music from my culture through Sawtik’s playlist. This is the beginning of something powerful.”

This isn’t the first Spotify initiative aimed at raising women’s voices in music and media. Their Equaliser Project highlights female creators in the Nordic music industry, while their Sound Up initiative supports podcasters across the US, UK and Ireland, Germany, Australia, Sweden and Brazil.

Other ways to buy used products in the UAE

UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.

Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.

Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.

For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.

Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.

At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.

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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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Proudest achievement: “I came to a new country and started this shop”

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Favourite place in Dubai: Al Fahidi. “They started the metro in 2009 and I didn’t take it yet.”

Family: six sons in Dubai and a daughter in Faisalabad

 

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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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Harlequins

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Cons: Stevenson 2

Pens: Stevenson

 

Bahrain

Tries: Wallace 2, Heath, Evans, Behan

Cons: Radley 2

Pen: Radley

 

Man of the match: Craig Nutt (Harlequins)

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Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)

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2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70

Men:

1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30

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When: Tonight, 5.30pm
Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae

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Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.

Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.

For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae

 

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Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.

Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.

Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.

Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.

Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.

Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.

Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.

Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.

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