The vision behind Hence, Management and its impact on regional talent

The Dubai-based multidisciplinary artist agency Hence, Management, founded in 2022, has quickly established itself as a key player in the region, focusing on music and lifestyle.

By bringing Arab artists to the global stage, Hence fills a significant gap left by the region’s music industry, which has historically focused on nightlife and clubbing activities, often neglecting the proper representation of artists and DJs. Omar Gamal, the driving force behind the agency, has been a pivotal figure in transforming the electronic underground music scene in the Middle East, and his extensive background in Egypt’s techno scene, coupled with his collaborations with the duo Aly & Fila, has equipped him with the expertise to elevate regional artists.

Hence, Management’s approach includes the curation of unique events such as the Jewelry Box Festival as well. It’s a lifestyle musical experience that combines live acts with a marketplace for handmade jewelry and sustainable accessories. Furthermore, they have an event series named Hence Showcase.

Looking ahead, Hence aims to expand its operations beyond the UAE to Europe, reaching a more diverse audience and building a stronger community. Omar also shares his insights on the challenges of managing artists in the region, emphasising the importance of developing a strategic approach to building an artist’s brand and creating demand for their performances. He envisions a future where regional booking agencies become standard practice, supporting local talent and fostering a robust music business infrastructure.

Hi Omar! Hope all is going well! Great to catchup with you in Dubai! I know you had given a short break and now fully back! Could you tell us what you had been up to?

Hi Fatih, it is nice to see you and to finally put a face to the name.

Things are going great here. I have so many things on my plate; having to build the artists’ rosters, their profiles and the promoter database.

I also pulled many Hence Night showcases, one of them was in Cairo with my good friend Masry, beside other ones in Dubai. We’ve also collaborated with the Lebanese artist agency PeachPuff for another showcase. And to top it all off, a sold out show with El Waili performing live as the headliner.

To continue with event plans, we have a busy season with Duck Soup. During the past three months, we have curated 3 events, including a collaboration with UGH, HoneyComb and the recently announced event that is yet to be held with Clause Voigtmann.

Duck Soup is a collective based in the United Arab Emirates that is part of Blitz Productions. Being a fan of the brand, I was encouraged to get more involved with it. Now I am 1/3 collaborator with Karim Jivraj and Mo Ezabyy.

Earlier this year, Hence and Blitz collaborated to create the lifestyle musical experience; Jewlery Box Festival, to name one of the brands I curated and am very focused on.

Let me pick one of them: Hence. There are many management agencies, what differentiates Hence from the others?

Hence, is a Dubai-based multi-disciplinary artist agency offering the region's electronic and live scene with booking management, PR & release arrangement. Our goal of supporting local and regional artists is to have them play in some of the most renowned events and stages around the world.

Hence also organizes our own events under the name of Hence Showcase.

The line-up curation is key to showcase the up-and-coming artists; reeling in a bigger audience using musical headliners, we get to expose those artists, and their deserving talents, to a larger crowd. This is the DNA of Hence Showcase.

It's about all about finding the right balance between the acts that the audience knows and the promising talents who are still climbing their way up with their yet-to-be-discovered thrilling performances.

And what would you recommend to new artists who are looking for managers? What are the expectations from a manager's perspective?

Managers do not get you bookings, you, as an artist, create the demand, and managers develop a strategy around your vision and campaigns. You don’t need an agent or a manager to perform. If you want to get booked, you should learn how to sell tickets, because that will help you secure your fee in the long term. I recommend new artists to take chances to grow in new places and when choosing a manager, look for a long-term thinker, a clear communicator and a team player.

Coming back to Hence, Showcase what are the plans for the rest of this year, any parties?

Our aim is to give the audience an unforgettable experience centred around the sound and ambience of the place. That’s why we have built a strong community that is open-minded and eager to discover new music and sound as we go.

We are not restricted to one particular genre. Electronic music is so broad, there is so many choices and potential. The sound coming out of the Middle East is revolutionary.

I know I picked one but also the Jewelry Box is an interesting concept. Maybe a couple of words on that?

Jewelry Box is a lifestyle and music experience, where we had a stage with 12 hours of music in addition to a marketplace to exchange and buy handmade jewellery and sustainable accessories. Right now we are working on elevating the concept to include live acts & more Jewelry brands, a full plan is being finalized.

Managing artists is not an easy job. What are the challenges that you frequently encounter?

Our perspective of booking agencies in our region is when we need to book an international act and bring them to our side of the world, but we are not used to having a home grown artist and a booking agency, it is taking a lot of effort and it’s gonna take time to normalize dealing with an agency to book a local talent. Looking at the future of it, it will absolutely have a great impact on the entire scene and will create the proper music business in the region.

If you talk to an artist about what influences them, their answers will be Western music. We know a lot about the culture of the West, but our Eastern culture is also rooted in us. That what makes us so innovative and diverse!

Look at these artists, how they have developed the Arabic sound with Western and Middle Eastern influences. It’s phenomenal.