Looking at the history of our local music scene, especially in recent years, we find that we’re welcoming regional acts to our stages more than we’re exporting talent. The cultural exchange between Lebanon and the rest of the region seems to be mostly one-sided, with the general efforts for talent export from Lebanon being directed towards Europe. With the local scene being a low-volume market, we have managed to position Beirut as a city that finds itself on the itinerary of most, but it rarely is a city of departure with the destination being our neighboring cities.
How can we reposition ourselves regionally?
What can we do to create a more dynamic cultural exchange with the region?
What is our role as labels, festivals, venues, and cultural practitioners in making that happen?
How does the current political climate in the region impact this mission?
How can we learn from the region’s dynamic music scenes, especially Egypt?
What are the hurdles stopping us from having more frequent regional exports?
What gives Lebanon its crucial role on the regional map? And how can we factor in the role of social media for diffusion, regional press, and the accessibility of streaming platforms in shaping our presence?
Festivals in the SWANA region often overlook Lebanese artists. Exporting to Egypt is usually reserved for high-level acts, with the political situation limiting events there. In Morocco, the goal to link the “Levantine” music with the Maghreb faces challenges, as programming from the region is minimal, and their local audience might not be familiar or resonate much with our music and sound. The Gulf also presents its own challenges; while there are efforts to include Lebanese acts (especially in Music XP), it is not very apparent in their festival programming as their attention is more towards larger acts for large audiences rather than tailoring their programming towards indie and alternative music communities.
What are these regions looking for? What can we do to ensure Lebanon remains a crucial player on the regional map?
The music scene in Lebanon is consistently active and progressive; however, it remains rather small in size and volume.
When thinking about exporting, does our music tick the boxes of the SWANA audience’s interests? Are we demanding too high of fees? Is it logistically difficult to arrange visas and cover travel expenses? And is the emergence of new genres in Lebanon not aligning with the audience’s interests in SWANA? What are the genres that spike interest, should genres be an issue or is it the facade for a deeper layer that we need to address between the relationship with regional actors and practitioners?