Sony Music Entertainment Middle East and Beecell, a leading regional mobile value-added services provider, have signed a strategic partnership to populate iTunes Mena and international stores with Arabic and regional music content aggregated by Beecell.

The Middle East has 39 per cent smartphone penetration which is among the highest in the world and Apple represents 35 per cent of the smartphones in the market which means a huge number of iTunes users are targeted, said a statement.

Bashar Hantouli, chief executive officer, Beecell, said: “We are excited to be adding this new dimension to our strategic alliance with one of the world’s leading music labels. We believe that our expertise in aggregation and management of content in the Mena region combined with Sony Music’s market-leading expertise in ingesting content in regional and international iTunes stores have the potential to revolutionise music distribution, access and consumption here in the Arab world and beyond.

“This partnership will allow iTunes stores visitors to have access to a wider range of popular music and video content that caters to their needs and preferences.”

Mike Fairburn, general manager of Sony Music Entertainment Middle East, said: “Beecell and Sony Music have been partners in the Middle East for many years and our relationship has been strengthened further with this strategic partnership.

“We believe that with our vast network of digital platforms and Beecell’s expertise in content aggregation in the region, it is an obvious step for us to be able to deliver quality content across platforms not just in the Middle East but also in other international markets where Arabic content continues to resonate.” - TradeArabia News Service