Hakawati’s Karim Beidoun: Interview at Abu Dhabi Congress

Hakawati’s CEO and Head of Content looks for “themes and topics that resonate with people around the world.”

Karim Beton. Image: Hakawati

By: Managing Editor Porter Anderson | @Porter_Anderson

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Speaking Challenges and Opportunities

A sound designers, music composers and audio engineers, Karim Beton Speech at 2nd Annual General Meeting on Sunday (May 21) Abu Dhabi International Conference on Arab Publishing and Creative Industriesan extensive conference programme, with programming at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Center on Sunday and Monday.

Beidoun appeared on a panel focused on “Audiobooks and Podcasts: Can Spoken Words Be Played With Music?”

At that meeting, he will join tell a storyof Helena Gustafson; Storytel and Storyside Mohammao Geli; and Digital Publishing Consultants george walkley. The meeting is chaired by a reporter Saeed Saeedan arts and culture feature writer the whole country.

Beidoun holds a Master of Science in Sound Design for Linear and Interactive Media and has over 20 years of experience in music production and post-production.On multicast audio drama, he worked for the BBC and is currently CEO and Head of Content hakawatiworking on the creation and production of the company’s podcast.

“Community of Loyal Listeners”

Beidou company name, Hakawati, From the Arabic word for storyteller, which originates from two words, story and correctThat prompted us to ask Beidou about Hakawati’s business priorities.

“Hakawati is a podcast production company,” says Beidoun publication point of view“We use our own technology to make production, distribution and monetization more efficient. Our first original podcast launched in May 2019 and we’ve since expanded to a network of 13 shows with more on the way It’s in preparation.”

The U.S.-based company, which has offices and teams in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Lebanon, uses “podcast download metrics, top locations, and consumption rates to evaluate our performance and listener feedback,” he said.

“Our audience grows exponentially every year,” says Bedouin, “and we build a loyal community of listeners around our hit shows. We use that feedback loop to grow and refine our content.”

Challenges: consistency, monetization options, diversity

When it comes to spoken-language audio, our coverage notes that each market in the world faces different challenges, with Beidoun saying that in the MENA region, podcasting “is a growing medium, but it also presents some unique challenges.

“The diversity of audiences spans different countries and cultures within and outside the region, making it difficult to target specific markets or niches with relevant and engaging advertising.”Karim Bedoon, Hakawati

“One of them,” he said, “is consistency in producing and distributing high-quality content that attracts and retains a loyal audience.

“Another challenge is the lack of monetization options for podcasters, who often rely on sponsorships, donations or subscriptions to sustain their work.

“The third challenge is the diversity of audiences,” says Bedouin, “which spans different countries and cultures in and outside the region. This makes it difficult to target specific markets or niches with relevant and engaging ads.

“We are working on solutions to overcome these challenges by creating value for our audience and finding innovative ways to monetize our content.

“Our next step is to create more localized content”

The area covered by Hakawati is very large, which prompted us to ask Beidou whether there are advantages to operating in such a large area.

“Our next move is to create more localized content for specific countries and cultures, such as Saudi Arabia.”Karim Bedoon, Hakawati

“We create content that appeals to a broad audience,” he said, “no matter where they are or what their background is.

“Our content is in the Lebanese dialect, but it also covers universal themes and themes that resonate with people around the world.

“However, we also recognize that our largest fan base is in the Gulf Cooperation Council”, which includes the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

“That’s why our next move is to create more localized content,” Beidoun said, “targeting specific countries and cultures, such as Saudi Arabia.”

For readers who will be attending the Abu Dhabi International Arab Publishing and Creative Industries Conference on Sunday, Beidoun and his panelists are scheduled to take the stage at 2.15pm

More publishing views from the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at heremore about The market in the United Arab Emirates is hereMore information on audio and audiobooks in international publishing is hereMore on the podcast is here. More information on our book fair and trade show for the world publishing industry is here. More about translation is hereand more about Arabic in publishing here.

Publishing Perspectives is the world’s media partner Sheikh Zayed Book Prize. Our extended coverage of ADIBF 2022 is supported by the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.