BAHRAIN (CelebrityAccess) — Sony’s classical division, Sony Music Masterworks announced it has taken a majority stake in the Dubai-based concert promotion, talent management and events production company, MAC Global.
Founded in 2014 by Rob McIntosh and Daniel Goldberg, MAC Global has brought live entertainment, including international touring artists such as Ed Sheeran, Michael Bublé, Drake and Sia, among others to markets such as UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, India and Saudi Arabia.
MAC Global’s clients include the Dubai Opera, Saudi Aramco, Al Dana Amphitheatre and Coca-Cola Arena and they produce concerts across the region, including UAE, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, India and Saudi Arabia. Upcoming shows in the region include fully sold out shows by Tiesto and George Ezra, and Lewis Capaldi, who is scheduled to perform in both Dubai and Bahrain this year.
Following the acquisition by Sony Masterworks, day-to-day operations at the company will continue to be overseen by McIntosh and Goldberg, who will collaborate with Mark Cavell, President of Sony Music Masterworks, Josh Lerman, Masterworks Senior Vice President of Business Development and Ollie Rosenblatt, Managing Director of Senbla. Additionally, the company’s focus will expand to include comedy, sports, virtual events, orchestral events, and immersive movie experiences.
“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. 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,” Cavell said.
“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,” added McIntosh and Goldberg, in a joint statement.
Sony Masterwork’s deal with MAC Global is the latest in a series of partnerships that will see the the company expand beyond the traditional realm of record labels and into the live entertainment industry. Recent investments include The Luna Cinema, UK-based producer of open air, pop-up, and drive-in cinema experiences; Seaview, a theatrical production company; Terrapin Station Entertainment, an artist management and production company; RoadCo Entertainment, a booking agency; Backyard Cinema, an experiential cinema event producer; GEA Live, a Holland-based agent and promoter; Senbla, a UK-based concert promotion and production company; and Raymond Gubbay Ltd. (RGL), the music, dance & Christmas Light Trail promoter.
