In the presence of His Excellency Advisor Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of General Entertainment Authority, Rotana Audio-Visual Company signed an agreement with Sout Al Jazeera Group Company to purchase the works and lyrical content of the Arab Artist, Mohammed Abdo. The agreement, which is the largest artistic deal in the Middle East, was signed by the CEO of Rotana, Mr. Salem Al-Hindi, while Sout Al Jazeera was represented by star singer Mohammed Abdo.
His Excellency Advisor Turki Alalshikh said that the importance of this deal lies in the long history of the Arab Artist, Mohammed Abdo, who is the most prominent in the Arab world, with his great history, production and fame. Moreover, the management of this rich artistic content has moved to a major professional company in this field, which owns great and distinctive capabilities for dealing with these important works. In addition, this deal prevents the recurrence of the difficulties that we usually face with artists after their retirement and disagreements with their families in managing and preserving their works.
On the value of the deal, Alalshikh said that it is the largest of its kind in the Middle East, emphasizing that “This may be the most expensive archive sold in the world.”
His Excellency added: ” Itis courageous for Mohammed Abdo to hand over a precious part of his works that he worked hard to prepare for sixty years. It’s like handing over one of his sons. This artist made great efforts over the past decades until the era of the present wise leadership that supports all arts.”
His Excellency pointed out that the catalog of archived songs that Rotana received includes 122 albums. On each page of this catalog are dozens of songs. He noted that there are songs that may be re-recorded, especially after Mohammed Abdo’s songs were presented last season with hologram technology and some of them were recorded in a modern way.
His Excellency the Advisor continued: “We at the General Entertainment Authority support archiving the artistic history of Saudi artists, and Mohammed Abdo remains far ahead of the rest of the artists.”
His Excellency thanked HRH Prince Al Waleed bin Talal for his support of Saudi artists on all Rotana channels, praising the company, its professionalism and technical expertise, and its support of Saudi and Arab art with hundreds of millions during the last period.
In the same context, the Arab Artist, Mohammed Abdo, talked about his career and the different stages it went through. He said: “Sout Al Jazeera Company went through difficult circumstances at its inception in the 1960s. There were many offers to purchase this audio library since its inception through phonograph records. It was the first company to establish a cassette factory and the first company to set up a studio with the latest equipment.”
The Arab Artist continued: “All these works and contents are stored and preserved. and at the suggestion of His Excellency, this artistic content was transferred to the largest company that owns new technology in artistic production.”
For his part, the CEO of Rotana, Mr. Salem Al-Hindi, said that the rich artistic content of the Arab Artist, which spanned sixty years, has moved to be managed by the company, hoping that Rotana will be faithful to this great legacy and preserve it. He thanked the godfather of the deal, His Excellency Advisor Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of General Entertainment Authority.
This agreement comes three days before the concert of the Arab Artist, which everyone is waiting for within the activities of Riyadh Season 2022. Mohammed Abdo meets his fans at Mohamed Abdo Arena in Boulevard Riyadh City on 11 November, in an exceptional evening that the audience has been waiting for since the time of its announcement, and tickets sold out very quickly.
The Arab Artist meets his fans again in Riyadh Season 2022, under the slogan “Beyond Imagination.” He held a concert, called “Lailat El Mazim,” in the last season, which had the slogan “Imagine More.” It was a huge concert during which the artist’s 60-year career was reviewed through hologram technology with 100 recorded songs. Abdo sang live some tracks at the concert, which impressed the audience.