5. What else is missing/needs to happen before the UAE can truly compete with musical cities such as New York, London, etc?
The 264 Cru: We believe there are several aspects that need a step change before the UAE can truly compete with the likes of New York & London:
1) Venues: We need venues with long term vision, and we need venues that aren't just in 5-star hotels. 5-Star venues need to cover 5-Star expenses, and hence look for immediate results, which isn't always possible when promoters are trying to build a scene and find their footing. Dubai needs venues that are a bit more raw and organic, such as warehouses that will allow promoters to build something from scratch. The model that most venue managers adopt, which is to get quick results that look exemplary on paper and use that as a stepping stone to further their careers, is a model that isn’t conducive to building customer loyalty or longevity. As it’s extremely difficult for someone to set out and open a licensed, viable, stripped back venue, our job is certainly a lot harder than it may seem from the outsider's perspective.
2) Artist licensing: If Dubai really wants to compete on the global scale, it needs to be a hotspot where artists can just ‘plug and play’. The unnecessary red tape involved in getting an artist permission is throttling the scene. If it’s about revenue, we would rather suggest DTCM just increase their cut of the ticket sales, but do away with this archaic requirement. This extends to all performances not just music but visual performances as well.
3) Alcohol licensing: Unable to acquire a liquor license for non-hotel properties is another reason why promoters are unable to use unusual locations for events. Even a slight amendment to this rule could lead to an exponential growth in creativity in the alternative music & arts scene. For instance, allowing art galleries, cafes or warehouses to obtain a liquor license for one night and/or weekend, giving them the opportunity to host gigs and nights as a one-off with the ability to serve alcohol? Now that, would be real change.
4) Radio stations: The quality of music we have on UAE radios is appalling (apart from 87.9). For those that don’t spend time digging for music online, their only introduction to new music is radio. How can we expect the masses to appreciate more cutting edge music when they go out if they are continuously force fed Top 40 on all radio stations? If radio stations allowed for more alternative programming outside of peak hours (run/curated by people in the local alternative music scene), it would help immensely. If we want things to move forward in the right direction, these guys seriously need to pull their weight in terms of music education and accessibility.
5) Live music: We’ve always felt live music in Dubai is always secondary to ‘club’ music, but it really shouldn’t be. In other cities around the world, you can go out and party all night to live rock, blues, jazz, funk, soul, afro, hip hop…but this mentality hasn’t quite reached Dubai just yet, and hence, good, constant live music offerings are rare. It is also surprising what we aren’t constantly exposed to music that comes from this region (i.e: Arabic Classical), and if you do want to learn/experience this side of the region’s culture, you have to hunt for it.
6. What's next for you/anything to add?
The 264 Cru: We’ve got a couple of projects and ideas in the pipeline, as our aspirations lie far beyond just being event promoters. Our goal is to help grow a credible and vibrant music scene, and raise it to a level where people around the world come to Dubai to experience great music, and even better, have Dubai grown talent represented at major events globally. We also want to be involved with whatever facets of music, art and community initiatives we think will benefit Dubai as a whole, and want to be synonymous with ‘Dubai’s Cultural Movement’. This could be in the form of a record label, a creative/artist agency, 264 Sessions (educational workshops), turn key curation of other events, tie up with bigger cultural organizations, radio/tv show, and maybe even a festival… most of these are pretty nascent, but in time, we hope to realize some, if not all of them.
Let’s see how we get on.
