Founded in 2010 in Bahrain, Mideast Tunes is an online platform that allows you to listen to more than 1,200 tracks for over 1,200 musicians in the Middle East and North Africa. Managed by Esra’a Al Shafei, Hajer Ghareeb, Mohamed Azazy and Weyam Ghadbian, the goal of the project was inspired by the desire to promote independent musicians in the region as a source of rich music that draws from a deep cultural history as well as modern genres to the international scene.
Mideast Tunes was run primarily by volunteers until the Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC), an initiative established in 2007 dedicated to supporting individuals and organizations in the fields of cinema, performing arts, literature, music and visual arts volunteers, began supporting them in 2013. Mideast Tunes now has a partnership with Radio Monte Carlo, Radio Netherlands Worldwide and, most impressive of all, Shazam, which samples their tracks to help these bands get identified. The platform is now being revamped and will be relaunched to iOS and Android platforms.
Check out Mideast Tunes on their website, or by following them on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow AFAC on Facebook and Twitter to find out about all the projects they support.
