ARABIC MEDIA POWERHOUSE ROTANA SELECTS THE ORCHARD FOR GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION AND MARKETING
Saudi Arabian Company, Owned by HRH Prince Alwaleed, Is World’s Largest Producer and Distributor of Arabic Music & Movies
Content Available Through Leading Digital Music Retailers, Including eMusic and iTunes
SEVILLE – October 27, 2006, – The Orchard, the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, today announced a global distribution agreement with Saudi Arabian media company Rotana Audiovisual, the world’s largest producer and distributor of Arabic music. The deal gives The Orchard access to an unparalleled catalogue of music from stars like Mohammed Abdou, Amr Diab, Najwa Karam, Hussein AlJesmi, Elissa, Wael Kfory, Fadel Shaker, Abadi Aljoher, George Wassouf, Kazim Alsaher, Majed Almuhandess, and Fulah. The announcement was made at the 2006 World Music Expo (WOMEX) Conference in Seville.
“In our nearly 20 years in business, we have established ourselves as the top provider of Arabic music and movies to audiences throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa,” said Rotana CEO HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud. “With The Orchard, we have the opportunity to broaden our reach in key markets like North America and Europe, where there are vast ethnic Arabic populations and other potential fans of Middle Eastern music. We’re continuing to explore the many possibilities that this alliance presents for Rotana.”
“Under the leadership of HRH Prince Alwaleed, Rotana has amassed a landmark catalogue of Arabic music and movies,” said Greg Scholl, chief executive of The Orchard. “With our expertise in marketing to ethnic communities in the U.S. and other territories, we look forward to working with the Rotana team to bring this music digitally to new audiences worldwide. We welcome Rotana to The Orchard family.”
About Rotana
Rotana started off as a record company in 1987, and grew to become the leading producer / distributor of Arabic music and film in the world, with the highest revenue generating mobile content corporation in the entire Middle East, North Africa, the Gulf and Europe.
Rotana is owned by HRH Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud.
Currently, Rotana’s family counts:
A portfolio of more than 100 stars from the entire MENA region, to which Rotana owns the rights of producing music, tapes, CDs, DVDs, Video Clips, distribution, advertising, promotion and in-store product placement. This certifies an 85% market share for Rotana in the Arabic music industry.
With the finest selection of top artists in the world, Rotana is the largest producer of Arabic Music Videos with a portfolio that includes stars like: Kazem Al Saher, Amr Diab, Nawal Al Kuwaitiya, Najwa Karam, Georges Wassouf, Wael Kfoury, Abdullah Rweished, Abdulmajeed Abdullah… and the family keeps growing while Rotana keeps investing in quality artists and quality productions. In addition to that, a TV network has been launched in 2003 and expanded at a very fast pace to include today a bouquet of 6 free-to-air TV channels: Rotana Mousica, Rotana Clip, Rotana Tarab, Rotana Khalijiyya, Rotana Cinema and Rotana Zaman. The latter channels are internationally acclaimed as the market leaders in the fields of Arabic music and film, dedicated to Arabic pop music, Arabic classical music, Interactive games, Gulf music, Cinema, featuring the biggest and latest blockbuster releases, and classical movies from the biggest Arabic film library in the world.
In less than two years, the Rotana network has successfully penetrated the satellite TV market with its leading TV Channels, two of which are ranked among the top five satellite channels, and four among the top 10 viewed channels in the Arab world.
Film Library and Movie Production: A library comprising more than 2000 Arabic movies ranging from great classics to the biggest recent blockbusters, thus making Rotana the biggest private owner of the largest Arabic film library with more than 60% market share. Rotana signed an agreement with IBM (Linux Based Digital Solution), to ensure the best quality of its library content by digitizing and restoring the entire library. In addition, Rotana made a hit in the movie production field and is producing the biggest movies with the most famous Arab celebrities.
Rotana Festivals/Events: A new regional office is currently signing agreements with all the international festivals that include Arabic performances, all the while hosting its own live events and concerts throughout the world.
Radio Network: Rotana is currently working on developing the strongest radio network in the region, by signing agreements with the most prominent Pan Arab radio stations and launching its own Rotana FM radio stations that will broadcast throughout the region.
Rotana Magazine: A new concept for the trend-conscious readers interested in celebrity news, the latest releases, movies, interviews, and other current events.
Music Video Production: Rotana produces no less than two to three video clips per album released, collaborating with the most famous directors and film crews in the Arab and Western worlds. Always eager to deliver the best, Rotana keeps an eye on all the new revolutionary techniques of film making.
Rotana Café: A complementary added value to all the above can only be a theme café where clients get to meet the stars, attend CD signings, new releases, TV shows and view the latest video clips, film sets, and photo shoots, all the while enjoying a café latté or a light meal. The merchandise shop within the café will be the central corner of the outlet: clients can purchase Rotana’s latest releases at first hand, with a wide range of movies, CDs and live concerts
About The Orchard
The Orchard is the world’s leading digital distributor and marketer of independent music, with a catalogue of more than one million tracks representing 73 countries, thousands of labels, and every music genre. This catalogue includes titles from multi-platinum acts such as Green Day, Coldplay, Ray Charles, and Daniela Mercury, as well as from breaking bands like The Hold Steady, Bedouin Soundclash, and Immortal Technique. The Orchard supplies all the leading legal digital music stores and mobile operators throughout the world and markets its labels’ catalogues for sync song placements in films, commercials, and television shows. The company is owned by Dimensional Associates, the private equity arm of JDS Capital Management, Inc. whose portfolio companies also include eMusic and Dimensional Music Publishing. The Orchard is headquartered in New York and London, with offices in 23 countries and six continents. For more information, please visit: www.theorchard.com
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