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Sony Music expands live interests with Dubai move

The record label's Sony Music Masterworks division has announced a majority investment in Middle East promoter MAC Global

By James Hanley on 03 Nov 2022

First large-scale shows return to UAE

Dubai


Sony Music Masterworks has expanded its live music interests, announcing a majority investment in Dubai-based pan-regional promoter, talent management, events and production firm MAC Global.

Founded in 2014 by Rob McIntosh and Daniel Goldberg, MAC Global has brought international touring acts to the Middle East region such as Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, Drake and Sia.

The firm produces shows in venues across the UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, India and Saudi Arabia, with clients including Dubai Opera, Saudi Aramco, Al Dana Amphitheatre and Coca-Cola Arena. It is about to kick off its new concert season with two sold-out shows by George Ezra and Tiesto, with Lewis Capaldi also set to perform in both Dubai and Bahrain in the coming weeks.

“We are thrilled to partner with Rob, Dan and the MAC Global team to bring the best in live entertainment to the Middle East and North Africa”

McIntosh and Goldberg will continue to lead day-to-day operations at MAC Global, working closely with Sony Music Masterworks president Mark Cavell, SVP of business development Josh Lerman and Senbla MD Ollie Rosenblatt.

“We are thrilled to partner with Rob, Dan and the MAC Global team to bring the best in live entertainment to the Middle East and North Africa,” says Cavell. “Their unrivalled experience in the MENA region combined with Sony Music’s wealth of expertise, resources, and broad portfolio of live entertainment properties will provide enhanced benefit to touring artists, productions, and audiences alike.”

The partnership is designed to create “new and synergistic experiential opportunities for audiences across the Middle East region”, and will see MAC Global’s remit expand to include comedy, sports, virtual events, orchestral events and immersive movie experiences.

“We’re excited to take our company to the next level of development and growth by joining the Sony Music Masterworks family”

McIntosh and Goldberg add: “Having established the MAC Global brand over many years, ensuring its position at the forefront of the live music industry in the Middle East, we’re excited to take our company to the next level of development and growth by joining the Sony Music Masterworks family.

“We are very much looking forward to working with Mark Cavell and the wider Masterworks team to develop new event intellectual properties alongside our core vision of bringing the biggest names in entertainment to the MENA region and beyond.”

The deal is the latest in a series of strategic partnerships and agreements “advancing Sony Music Masterworks’ growth as a multi-faceted worldwide entertainment business”. Recent investments include UK-based producer The Luna Cinema; theatrical production company Seaview; artist management and production firm Terrapin Station Entertainment, booking agency RoadCo Entertainment; experiential cinema event producer Backyard Cinema; Netherlands-based agent and promoter GEA Live; and UK-based promoters Senbla and Raymond Gubbay Ltd.

Sony Music Masterworks comprises Masterworks, Sony Classical, Milan Records, XXIM Records, and Masterworks Broadway imprints.

 


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