• Streaming accounts for 97.5% of MENA's recorded music revenues, but doesn’t predict live ticket sales. Platinumlist's solution closes that gap, combining public charts with more than 100,000 events to forecast live demand.

Dubai, UAE — Platinumlist, the Middle East’s entertainment discovery and ticketing platform, has launched Artist Intelligence. An AI advisory tool aimed to help event organisers forecast which artists are likely to sell tickets in specific GCC markets.

The tool draws on the company's dataset of 100 million tickets sold across 18 countries over 18 years, cross-referenced with real-time streaming and social data from Spotify, YouTube, and TikTok.

The problem with streaming decisions

Songs are now going viral faster than ever. According to Chartmetric, the average time for a track to reach 100,000 TikTok posts dropped from around 340 days in 2020 to roughly 50 days by 2025. Yet faster virality is producing declining returns. Over the last five years, the TikTok-to-Spotify conversion rate has dropped by 2.6 times.

“Streaming data confirms audience interest but doesn’t show how that interest converts to ticket sales. The same artist can draw in Riyadh and underperform in Dubai. An informed decision requires ticketing data like purchase history, fill rates, price sensitivity, and demand patterns by city, day, and season,” said Cosmin Ivan, CEO at Platinumlist.

Platinumlist's recent data shows that Indian music accounts for 69% of YouTube chart share in the UAE and 11% of live events there, but in Saudi Arabia, the same genre represents just 0.5% of shows.

How Artist Intelligence works

Artist Intelligence fill the gap in music data and functions across three layers. The first draws on popularity data from streaming services and social media. It tracks growth patterns, geographic listener distribution and platform-specific trends.

The second is Platinumlist's proprietary ticketing dataset. It combines purchase behaviour, visit frequency, event category performance, audience demographics, historical fill rates, average order values, and conversion patterns across markets, seasons, and days of the week.

The third AI layer combines the first two into a comparative analysis. The system benchmarks artists against each other across key metrics to identify which names are most likely to perform. 

“The tool is designed to make organisers’ work as easy as possible. They simply share a shortlist of artists with our team. Artist Intelligence then analyses each artist’s digital footprint and cross-references it with first-party ticketing patterns. As a result, we received a comparative demand forecast that helps to build an effective concert strategy,” commented Cosmin Ivan, CEO at Platinumlist.

Why the industry needs this now

The UAE concert market is projected to grow at a 16.1% CAGR through 2031. At the same time, the regional music economy is increasingly digital. The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry reports that MENA recorded music revenues grew 15.2% in 2025, with 97.5% of revenues coming from streaming. A Deloitte study found that 82% of Gen Z and 70% of millennials now discover music through social media or user-generated video.

That creates a harder environment for industry professionals. More artists enter the market across more platforms, while listening habits and live demand vary across GCC markets. Alongside mainstream shows, genres such as Jazz, Afrobeats, Reggae and K-pop music are building distinct audiences, making booking decisions more complex.

At the same time, logistical disruption affecting large-scale international touring may create more room for local emerging artists. А tool that combines streaming signals with first-party ticketing data can help the industry identify real demand earlier and support new talent with more confidence.

About the company

Platinumlist is a leading entertainment discovery platform in the Middle East. Users can follow their favourite artists, get notifications for local performances, and enjoy secure and convenient event access. Furthermore, Platinumlist supports event organisers with advanced tools like reporting, seat mapping, and dynamic QR codes, covering everything from setup and management to digital marketing, on-site ticket scanning, and sales.

Since 2009, the platform has boasted over 100,000 events, ranging from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to smaller gatherings, working with clients in 18+ countries, including the GCC, MENA, Europe, and the US. As a leading entertainment brand in the region, it serves tens of millions of fans annually through concerts, cultural events, and more.

Media contact: Viktoria Barshchova, PR Manager, vb@prhub.ae, pr@platinumlist.ae