By UAE standards, rock musician Jay Wud is a veteran of the scene. The Lebanese guitarist has already released two self-produced albums, scoring heavy rotation with the 2012 single Incomplete Heart.
Fronting the band named after him, Jay Wud landed the supporting slot when Guns N’ Roses performed in Abu Dhabi. Something of a fretboard virtuoso, the frontman boasts endorsements from seven different guitar and music-gear companies.
On Friday, the band will open for Mötley Crüe at Yas Island, a day after launching a US$30,000 [Dh110,200] crowdfunding campaign to finance the completion of the third album, recorded in Los Angeles.
Wud believes the only way to realise his musical dreams is to ask fans to dig deep and show their support.
Crowdfunding by Middle Eastern artists?
It’s no secret that the emergence of streaming services and illegal downloads have crippled music companies the world over. Established artists now earn the bulk of their revenue from touring, while unsigned acts have been forced to find new ways to market and fund their recordings.
For musicians in the Gulf, the collapse of conventional marketing models has, perhaps, levelled the playing field. But Jay Wud isn’t the first Middle Eastern act to try crowdfunding. Lebanese bands Mashrou’ Leila and Who Killed Bruce Lee surpassed their crowdfunding targets by raising $67,073 and $22,040, respectively, from online campaigns.
But if Jay Wud prove successful, they could be setting the groundwork for other UAE acts.
“It’s the way forward for musicians,” says Wud. “I don’t want to be tied to a label – I’ve been approached by labels and turned them down. It’s not a fair deal – it’s way better if you’re on your own and backed by your followers.”
The album
After 2012's False Utopia – self-recorded at the Dubai Media City film and sound studio where he works – Wud was determined that album number three would up the game. And to do that, he wanted someone else at the helm.
Wud sent new demos out to 10 producers. The first to reply was United States-based Howard Benson, a Grammy-nominated alt-rock veteran who has worked withMotörhead, 3 Doors Down, Daughtry, My Chemical Romance, Chris Cornell and Kelly Clarkson.
In October last year, Wud flew to Benson's Los Angeles studio and recorded three songs with session musicians for a planned EP. Low, a pounding hard-rock anthem driven by a mammoth guitar riff, was released with an anime-style video in January.
“When you record with a producer like Howard, you get what you pay for,” says Wud, with a smile.
Early this year, he returned to LA – this time with his band – to record a fourth track and tape sessions for the web channel EMGtv. They also made their North American debut at The Viper Room, the notorious Sunset Strip venue once owned by Johnny Depp, outside of which actor River Phoenix died of an overdose. The experience served to convince Wud of his desire to record a whole album stateside with Benson.
“I want to step it up,” says Wud, 32. “I don’t want to be that guy making home-made records, I want to be one of the first artists in the region to get a proper production made in LA.”
The question is: how to foot the bill? That’s what sparked the idea to crowdfund $30,000 towards completing the sessions and promoting the album’s release next year.
To kick-start the 60-day campaign, Wud has put together a video of testimonials from friends, including Lebanon’s reigning “King of Comedy”, Nemr Abou Nassar, and Guns N’ Roses guitarist Bumblefoot.
In the video, we also hear from Benson.
“I really wanted to work with a band from the Middle East,” he says. “It’s interesting to see the reactions from people when I say that – there’s a lot of people who don’t even think a rock music scene exists out there.”
Thanks to Jay Wud, that could be set to change.
• Jay Wud support Mötley Crüe at du Arena, Yas Island, on Friday. The band also perform at Dubai’s The Music Room on November 27, tickets cost Dh60. Follow @JayWud on Twitter and click here for details of the crowdfunding campaign
rgarratt@thenational.ae
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.”
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company Profile
Company name: myZoi
Started: 2021
Founders: Syed Ali, Christian Buchholz, Shanawaz Rouf, Arsalan Siddiqui, Nabid Hassan
Based: UAE
Number of staff: 37
Investment: Initial undisclosed funding from SC Ventures; second round of funding totalling $14 million from a consortium of SBI, a Japanese VC firm, and SC Venture
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier
From September 18-25, Abu Dhabi
. The two finalists advance to the main event in South Africa in February 2023
Group A: United States, Ireland, Scotland, Bangladesh
Group B: UAE, Thailand, Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea
UAE group fixtures:
Sept 18, 3pm, Zayed Cricket Stadium – UAE v Thailand
Sept 19, 3pm, Tolerance Oval - PNG v UAE
Sept 21, 7pm, Tolerance Oval – UAE v Zimbabwe
UAE squad: Chaya Mughal (captain), Esha Oza, Kavisha Kumari, Rinitha Rajith, Rithika Rajith, Khushi Sharma, Theertha Satish, Lavanya Keny, Priyanjali Jain, Suraksha Kotte, Natasha Cherriath, Indhuja Nandakumar, Vaishnave Mahesh, Siya Gokhale, Samaira Dharnidharka
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
UAE SQUAD
Khalid Essa, Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammad Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoon Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
EMIRATES'S REVISED A350 DEPLOYMENT SCHEDULE
Edinburgh: November 4 (unchanged)
Bahrain: November 15 (from September 15); second daily service from January 1
Kuwait: November 15 (from September 16)
Mumbai: January 1 (from October 27)
Ahmedabad: January 1 (from October 27)
Colombo: January 2 (from January 1)
Muscat: March 1 (from December 1)
Lyon: March 1 (from December 1)
Bologna: March 1 (from December 1)
Source: Emirates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 2.5/5
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
OIL PLEDGE
At the start of Russia's invasion, IEA member countries held 1.5 billion barrels in public reserves and about 575 million barrels under obligations with industry, according to the agency's website. The two collective actions of the IEA this year of 62.7 million barrels, which was agreed on March 1, and this week's 120 million barrels amount to 9 per cent of total emergency reserves, it added.
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
