GEO FOCUS UAE A Desert in Bloom >>> MEDIA MARKET
SINCE 1962, when Abu Dhabi became the first of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to begin exporting its oil reserves, the country’s society and economy have vastly transformed. Yet while petroleum and natural gas exports still represent the lion’s share of the economy, the media has become increasingly important, with the government setting up tax-free zones and offering incentives to entice content producers into the region. These free zones offer businesses 100 percent ownership and repatriation of capital/profits with no income tax, capital tax, or currency restrictions. To make them even more alluring for media companies, many also feature dedicated support services and pre- installed infrastructure including fibre optic cabling. The two largest zones are Dubai Media City and twofour54 in Abu Dhabi.
Launched in 2001, Dubai Media City has become a
regional hub for media groups including news agencies, publishers, and broadcast facilities. Late last year, the Middle East Broadcasting Center (MBC) Group signed a strategic partnership agreement with Dubai Studio City that has seen the creation of a 15,000sqft sound stage at Dubai Studio City with two more 25,000sqft sound stages planned to be
operational later this year. The UAE is also home to major pan-Arab
broadcasters, including the MBC Group, which includes 10 TV channels and two radio stations as well as several online platforms, and Orbit Showtime Network – a pay TV network that offers around 100 channels of locally produced and international television content.
In Abu Dhabi, a large part of the boom in TV and
film productions has been due to the recently implemented Abu Dhabi International Production Incentive Scheme, which provides eligible production companies with a refund of up to 30 percent of qualifying expenditure.
Dubai also set up a film and TV commission in mid- 2012 and while the emirate lacks a formal rebate programme such as Abu Dhabi’s, the commission does offer an informal and fully customisable rebate of up to 20 percent. “The UAE has become a vibrant regional centre for media and audio production. The industry here caters to a potential audience of 360 million Arabic speakers living in the Middle East and North Africa region, 50 percent of whom are under the age of 25 and many of whom are hungry for content. This represents an
POPULATION: 8.26 MILLION
incredible opportunity for the media industry,” commented Paul Baker, executive director of twofour54 intaj in Abu Dhabi. Alongside these regional incentives, the UAE’s first
crowdfunding site dedicated to Arab filmmakers, Aflamnah (which translates to ‘our films’) has helped fund a number of projects since it was launched in July 2012 by husband and wife team Vida Rizq and Lotfi Bencheikh. “We felt we needed a platform where people could go who are interested in Arab creatives, so the mindset of the people browsing is already in the right place and I think that makes us unique,” said Rizq in an interview with the Huffington Post. “Plus there’s a lot of talent here that is not comfortable in English, and we’re the only platform that's available in Arabic.” The general audio industry in the UAE has also benefitted from the region’s quick pace of growth. “The audio industry has grown across all verticals including installed sound, live sound, and production/broadcast sound,” says Mosawin Antao, head of IT and marketing at Dubai-based NMK Electronics. “Projects such as hotels/resorts, sports facilities, and educational campuses have increased the number of system integrators in the country.”
>>> MUSIC STUDIO Full Service Offering from SoundStruck Studios
LOCATED IN the Damac Executive Heights building in central Dubai, a stones throw from Dubai Media City, SoundStruck Studios provides all aspects of audio and music production as well as mastering services and audio post production for TV, film, media, and gaming. The facility includes two independent studios attached to multi-tracking rooms. The Wes Lachot designed Studio A features custom-made acoustics from
RPG and is used for everything from radio spots to mixing and sound design for feature films. The control room is based around an SSL AWS948 console and includes
outboard gear from Neve, API, SSL, Manley, Dangerous Music, Cranesong, and Emperical Labs. The room is also set up to be used as a post-production studio with the ability to mix in 5.1. Studio B is a smaller scale facility that is designed for radio and TV
productions, and also doubles as a MIDI Studio featuring a number of instruments and plug-ins with a setup based on multiple DAWs, and Adam and Genelec monitoring. Recent credits include recording the track Evacuation for the Grammy- nominated American producer and singer-songwriter, Ryan Leslie, as well as
26 October 2013
www.audiomedia.com
post production, voice overs, sound design, and music composition for ads from Subway, Kinder, Samsung, Daimler, Nestlé, and Sony.
www.soundstruckstudios.com
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