ABU DHABI, 9th December, 2025 (WAM) -- On the opening day of BRIDGE Summit 2025, the world's largest debut media event, the UAE reaffirmed its role as a global hub for culture and creativity as leading artists and industry stakeholders gathered in Abu Dhabi to explore how music can transcend borders, democratise opportunity, and strengthen human connection in an increasingly digital world.
In a session titled "The Universal Language Connecting a Divided World," Imad Mesdoua, Spotify's Director, Government Affairs, MEA, examined how streaming technologies and AI-powered discovery are enabling new narratives to emerge across borders and reshaping how global audiences engage with music.
Complementing this industry perspective, a second session brought together Jordanian artist Aziz Maraka and Syrian singer-songwriter Faia Younan, who reflected on the emotional truths and lived experiences that allow music to resonate across languages and cultures.
Imad Mesdoua explained that before streaming, access to music was shaped by geography and financial constraints, but platforms such as Spotify have democratised discovery and expanded the diversity of artists reaching global stages. He said that if someone had told him 28 years ago that Nigerian artists would sell out stadiums in the United States or the United Kingdom, he would have thought it impossible, yet this is now a defining reality. Mesdoua added that music streaming has democratised access to music and brought previously underrepresented genres to global attention, allowing new stories to be told across borders. He emphasised that music is a deeply personal experience and one of the most powerful ways to channel stories across people and places.
Mesdoua noted that Spotify's approach relies on both algorithmic discovery and human editorial curation. Algorithms adapt to listeners' habits but periodically introduce tracks from different cultures, bringing unfamiliar genres to new audiences. At the same time, Spotify's global editorial team, including editors based in UAE, play a critical role by staying close to live music scenes, monitoring cultural shifts and identifying emerging artists. He highlighted initiatives such as Fresh Finds, which elevate unsigned artists and give them access to international audiences. This combination of technology and human insight, he said, is essential to cultivating a more inclusive and economically diverse music ecosystem.
In the session "Sounds That Speak Every Language," Aziz Maraka and Faia Younan spoke about how sincerity, emotion and lived experience form the connective tissue of music that travels across borders. Maraka described his artistic practice as a daily process of self-reflection rather than a market calculation. He said that he writes songs according to what he feels, and if a handful of people feel the same way, the honesty of that moment will carry further than any trend. Reflecting on AI's role in music, Maraka said that technology can offer a rhythm or a rhyme, but it cannot live the mistakes, shame, joy or growth that make a song real, adding that audiences respond to the person behind the sound rather than the perfect output.
Faia Younan explained that emotion is the anchor of her cross-cultural reach. She said that if she does not articulate exactly what she feels, the song loses its purpose, because emotion is what reaches listeners first, even when they do not speak the language. She drew a clear distinction between AI and the creative process, noting that creativity lives in the act of rewriting, reconsidering and returning to a single line for weeks until it reveals its truth. AI, she said, can complete a task, but it will never know the pleasure of the path that shapes the music.
'Sounds That Speak Every Language' and 'The Universal Language Connecting a Divided World' were part of a 300+ session program that reflects BRIDGE Summit's scale and ambition. The debut edition of BRIDGE Summit takes place from 8-10 December 2025 at ADNEC in Abu Dhabi. The Summit provides a structured environment for leaders, innovators, and institutions to examine shared challenges, exchange perspectives, and explore practical collaboration across media, content, entertainment, technology, finance, culture, and the wider creative economy.
