Case #1: Massari

• Massari is a recording artist of Lebanese-Canadian descent, with music in the R&B pop genre.
• The diverse social and cultural upbringing of Massari influenced his musical style since the beginning of his career.
• As a composite of his background, Massari’s music combines the culture of both western, and Middle Eastern territories.
• His music incorporates traditional Middle Eastern accents and voices. This is combined with the song structures of western Hip Hop and R&B music, creating an Arabic-fusion.
• Releasing his first song entitled Spitfire in 2002, Massari gained an international following. This aired across radio stations in Ottawa, Canada, and surrounding areas.
• Massari has released three full-length albums, in 2005, 2009, and 2018.
• All his music is generally categorized as Arabic fusion, with mainly up-beat and positive tones geared towards females. It contains some Middle Eastern melodies and incorporates both singing and rapping.

His Successes

• Releasing his first album in 2005, Massari acquired features from rappers Loon and Belly. The album gained him commercial success, ranking gold in Canada, and making the charts in the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.
• This debut album contained four singles, two of which reached the top ten in Canada and made the German singles chart.
• Massari’s first album received a 2006 JUNO nomination for R&B or 'Soul Recording of the Year.' It also received approval from Canadian Urban Music Awards and SOCAN, as well as worldwide licensing deals.
• The album received gold and platinum sales internationally. Massari also received a major endorsement deal with Pepsi in the Middle East and North Africa.
• In 2009 Massari released his second album, which contained two hit singles 'Bad Girl' and 'Body Body.'
• Massari released a free single as an introduction to his project. This was an attempt to target the Middle East demographic more. In the same year, he released another single entitled 'Brand New Day.' This went gold in Canada in 2013.
• Another single released in 2013, 'Shisha,' featuring rapper French Montana, also went gold in Canada.
• As a pre-release of his third album, Massari released two singles, 'So Long' and 'Done DA DA.' This album contained prominent artists including Shaggy, Tory Lanez, Afrojack, Beenie Man, and Mohammed Assaf.

Marketing Strategy

• Massari's website promotes his work and give persons a behind the scenes view of his projects.
• His website not only features his music and videos, but also points interested persons to where they can listen and purchase his work.
• Massari’s music can be found on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, Anghami, Deezer, the iTunes Store, and Soundcloud.
• Social media platforms including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook are also used to market Massari’s music. Massari is currently inactive on Twitter, with his last post being 2018.
• With 577,000 subscribers on YouTube, this platform is used to market his music.
• He has 127,800, and 712,000 followers on Twitter and Instagram respectively. On both platforms, clips and links to his music can be found.
• Massari has a Facebook following of over 3.5 million and has received almost 3 million likes. His most recent music is mostly marketed on this platform.

Independently or Record Label.

• When starting, Massari signed to Capital Profit (CP) records in 2005 but separated from the label in 2007 after the success of his first album.
• In 2009, he signed to Universal, releasing his second full-length album entitled Forever Massari.
• He separated from Universal in 2011 and re-signed with his first label CP Records.
• Massari is currently signed to CP records with his latest project released in 2018, entitled 'Tune In.'

Case #2: French Montana

• French Montana is a hip-hop artist who moved to New York from Morocco when he was young.
•  Fluent in French, Arabic, and English, Montana has always been infatuated with the hip-hop genre of music.
• His music is heavily influenced by underground rap and blends Arab, Islamic, and Moroccan cultures.
• French Montana has incorporated his Arabic influences not only in his music, but in the artwork which accompanies it. He is seen on album covers incorporating an African-style of dress, including a turban, as well as other cultural stigmas.
• Montana’s latest album, released in 2019, incorporates the Arabic language and makes many references to Morocco and its culture.

His Successes

• Forbes Morocco rated French Montana as the top Arab star representing the culture on a global stage.
• He is a Grammy-nominated artist and has collaborated with many top international superstars including Rick Ross, Drake, Nicki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, and others.
• Releasing his first single 'Pop That' in 2012, it went platinum after a couple of weeks. His album released that year pushed French Montana to the peak of his exposure across the Atlantic.
• His newest album, Montana, which fuses Arabic and hip-hop cultures, went gold within the first week of being released.
• Songs, including 'Salam Alaykum,' pulls on the artist’s background and has gotten over 2 million views on YouTube.

Marketing Strategy

• French Montana's website promotes all his music. His newest album, which is heavily influenced by his Arabic background, is promoted here.
• This website informs interested parties about where his music can be accessed. These include platforms such as Soundcloud, iTunes, Apple Music, Spotify, Google Play, Deezer, Tidal, and more.
• Social media platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter are also used to promote all of French Montana’s music. His YouTube page has 4.16 million subscribers and features videos and audios of all his Arabic fusion music.
• French Montana has 12.6 million and 2.9 million followers Instagram and Twitter. His Facebook profile has over 4.5 million followers and more than 4.2 million likes.

Independently or Record Label

• In 2009 French Montana was signed to Akon’s music label and P. Diddy’s Bad Boys in 2011.
• He released his first single in 2013 and became the head of his record label called Coke Boys.
• His newest album, Montana, which is highly influenced by his Moroccan heritage, was released under his Coke Boys label in December 2019.

Strengths

• The Sultan fuses eastern and western culture in his music to convey inspirational and "heart-warming messages that encourage one to live life to the fullest".
• The Sultan's unique and versatile style sets him apart from his competitors. He is able to traverse the genre of pop and other styles while delivering spiritual and uplifting vocals.
• His online presence and following also give him an edge. He has over 22,000 followers on Instagram and more than 1,000 followers on Facebook. He also has a YouTube channel and a Twitter account. These social media platforms make his music discoverable.
• Apart from these social media platforms, his music is available on platforms such as Spotify and Soundcloud. The availability of the Sultan's music on Spotify and Soundcloud makes his music accessible to a wide audience.
• The marketing capability of the Sultan and proper use of information technology on his website and social media platforms also sets him apart from the competition.
• The Sultan project benefits various streams of revenue including music tours, shows, merchandise, and art.
• The depiction of the real-life Aladdin modern-oriental story in cartoons and other content gives the Sultan project an edge and potential additional source of revenue.

Weakness

• According to the Sultan website, all upcoming concerts will take place in Germany. Many concerts in one area can stretch thin a musician's fanbase.
• Although the Sultan's music is on YouTube, Soundcloud, and Spotify, his music is missing on other platforms such as AppleMusic and ReverbNation. This limits avenues where his music can be accessed.
• The low number of followers on other social media platforms apart from Instagram may deny the Sultan influencer revenue. He currently has 1,208 followers on Facebook and 131 followers on Twitter.

Opportunities

• The Sultan has an opportunity of expanding his fanbase using social media platforms such as YouTube According to IFPI research, 85% of YouTube users use the platform to listen to music.
• The Sultan could benefit from the recent rise in popularity of Arabic-influenced music among club-goers in Europe. According to Hinter, Middle East musicians are increasingly getting recognition in the UK. This is driven by people being more interested in new sounds.
• The Sultan can also tap into the growing market for independently made music, which has an estimated global market value of over $2 billion in 2020 and is projected to grow.
• Current and future technology enhancements will allow the Sultan to increase his fanbase. Platforms such as Tik Tok and Patreon can help artists to be discovered by enabling fans to share music and videos among themselves.
• Artists are also pushing to be paid royalties from other platforms such as online radio stations. This could provide additional revenue for artists such as the Sultan.

Threats

• Online music piracy is a major threat to musicians as thousands of people can easily obtain music illegally from the internet without benefiting creators of the music. According to Dataprot, "70,000 jobs a year are lost in the United States due to music piracy".
• Rapidly increase in competition for independent musicians in the global music industry. Many artists are focussing on growing their brands and fanbase. This is a threat to artists such as the Sultan who are in the growth stages of their music careers.
• Music recording and music distribution processes are changing rapidly and could be a threat to musicians who can not adapt quickly to these changes.