| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Media |
| Genre | Arabic, World |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder(s) | Bashar B. Barazi |
| Headquarters | Chicago, United States |
| Number of locations | Chicago, Tokyo, Madrid |
| Parent | 3B Media Inc. |
| Website | http://www.MAQAM.com |
MAQAM is a US based production company specializing in Arabic and Middle Eastern media. The company was established by a small group of Arabic music and culture lovers, later becoming a division of 3B Media Inc. "MAQAM" is an Arabic word meaning a position of high esteem. It also refers to a musical mode in Arabic music that is based on the quarter-tone scale (Arabic maqam).
The company's consumer retail web site is considered to be "The World's biggest on-line source for Arabic Music"[1]. In 2009 the company launched the first Arabic music digital service[2]. They also produce Radio MAQAM, the first Arabic music online radio service, as well as the nationally syndicated Radio MAQAM show, on public radio, which is hosted by Bashar Barazi.[3].
In 2001 the company co-produced a commemorative album for Iraqi Oud player Munir Bashir entitled "Mesopotamia"[4]. This was followed by another cultural production for Iraqi Oud prodigy Asim Al Chalabi entitled "Monajat"[5].
In 2005, the company premiered the first Broadway-style theatrical production of Arabic and Middle Eastern dance and music in Tokyo, Japan called "A Dream Of Arabia".[6]. This was followed by a series of shows in Asia and then the US premier in Chicago on June 12, 2008. The show received wide coverage in the media [7],[8],[9] and was critically praised as a ground breaking show and described as "..a majestic fusion of dance and theatre"[10].
MAQAM has also been credited with bringing Arabic culture to the Western mainstream[11]. The company frequently collaborates with top Arab artists from the "golden age" such as Fairuz and sponsors their official web sites. MAQAM's music label is known for only accepting artists on an exclusive basis and their roster includes acts such as Egyptian Academy, Nourhan Sharif, Nanae, Yousry Sharif, Mary Ellen Donald, Mimi Spencer, Adam Basma, and the Oriental-Jazz group Hijazz.
It has been reported that the company frequently sponsors charitable causes including benefits for Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), food drives, Benefit for Gaza [12], Hope for Haiti, as well as being committed to environmental responsibility[13]
On January 28 2011, MAQAM turned their official Facebook and Twitter pages into live feeds, reporting all calls, emails, tweets, photos, video, and news from Egypt, giving Egyptians under the internet blockade access to their global audience during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. During that time they also mobilized their fan and audience base under the banner "freedom@MAQAM", continuously broadcasting dial up access numbers, direct IP addresses for blocked web sites, local emergency phone numbers, blood donation information and sites throughout Egypt, and recorded phone calls from citizens in Egypt. MAQAM has since been continuously reporting on the 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests in Tunisia (Tunisian Revolution), Egypt, Bahrain, 2011 Libyan civil war in Libya, Yemen, Algeria, Morocco, 2011 Syrian uprising in Syria, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and across the Middle East and North Africa. Their reporting is noted for being uncensored, unedited, and a direct broadcast of the protests allowing viewers around the world to experience the revolutions as they happen. It was reported in July 2011 that the MAQAM web sites had been under brutal malicious attacks in response to their coverage and reporting on the revolutions.