It’s been more than two months since the iHeartMedia partnership announcement at Web Summit Qatar 2025. I felt that it was time to dive deeper into the rabbit hole. Usually, details are quite scant when it comes to asking Middle East outlets. So I decided to take it to the source – they welcomed the opportunity and the rest is history.
With my good friend Gazanfarulla Khan, we sat down (virtually) with iHeartMedia on The Geeky Nomads podcast to elaborate on this new venture. Andy Kelly (SVP of Ruby, iHeartMedia’s Branded Content Studio; now the EVP of Global Brand Partnerships) gave us an insightful breakdown on the announcement, which brings with it challenges as well as opportunities.
Below is a small transcript of the full conversation you can listen/watch on the podcast.
Diving into the iHeartMedia partnership
When you were there on site with your team at Web Summit Qatar with your entire studio set up, tell us firsthand, what have you learned?
“I think, I think what we found and what I was so surprised by when we got to web summit was when we set up our booth and we had the studio and we had the little educational center there. People were so excited to learn more about audio. They wanted to learn how to do it well, but more surprisingly was the different types of creators that would come to learn about audio. We weren’t sure if a lot of the audience would just be interested in technology and business, but we had folks that were interested in culinary, in art, in music, in politics, in history, everything. People came from all walks.“
Dubai has been trying to entice content creators and even podcasters because they launched their new Creators HQ where they’re offering to help relocate people. They’re even helping them to set up their own businesses as such. And I want to say that when that news came out, it’s like, did you still feel that? No, we still want to go in with Qatar and set up our entire base there for the region.
“There’s not going to be one winner in the MENA region. We are very collaborative. We take a very collaborative approach where if you think that only one person will win in podcasting in an entire region, that’s crazy. We’re sort of a rising tide lifts all boats. Everyone that’s making great podcast content is going to help everyone else that makes great podcast content.
That’s the way it has been in North America. That’s the way it will be throughout the world. Sure, there’s a consolidation of mass podcast publishers, but when it comes to creating places for people to create good podcast and audio content, there’s going to be many. What we’re focused on is finding the right mix of world-class facilities that you can come and learn about audio and create great audio mixed with the advertisers and partners that are going to give you scale to that. So we are taking a both approach. I think what we’ve seen throughout the Middle East is a lot of companies are saying, hey, we’re going to give you the best studio on the planet to make your show. They’re not going to tell you how to get a brand on board to actually sponsor that content. They’re not going to tell you how to market your show correctly. They’re going to give you all of the equipment.“
While the above is just a partial excerpt of the full conversation, you can listen/watch the full conversation on: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and iHeartRadio.
Please do subscribe to the podcast and follow their accounts on Instagram and Threads.
