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Anghami is a new music service for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Available on the App Store,  the recently released beta app offers streamed Arabic and international music from practically every major music label for a fixed monthly fee.  But while in beta, Anghami is offering all its library completely FREE of charge.  All you need to do is to download the app and request an invite code. 

But...

You can now have instant access using the activation code "arabnetanghami". Hurry up, the code is only valid for the first 50 activations.

Anghami is a subscription based streaming music service. Unlike ''a la carte' music, which Apple pioneered with its notorious .99$ per song model, users pay a fixed monthly subscription fee to play any track at any time and as many times as they like. This model has been so successful with companies like Spotify and  Rdio that Microsoft is implementing it with Xbox Music to try and topple Apple's Stranglehold on the digital music industry. You can read a detailed analysis on the subject by Nathan Ingraham from The Verge here.

One music app to rule them all

Having both Arabic and International labels on board gives Anghami a clear edge over competing services such as Yalla.FM and eTarab, whose libraries consist solely of Arabic music. "Offering both foreign and local artists eliminates the need to subscribe to multiple services. Instead users can get their music fix with one sub, through one app," explained George Audi, Strategy & Business Development Manager at Anghami. 

Similar to Google Music, users can also "pin" songs for offline use.

The labels include all major Arabic labels, such as Rotana, Mazzika and Melody, as well as leading Arabic and regional aggregators, in addition to EMI, Warner, Sony, and soon Universal.

The team is also working closely with local telecom operators, in an effort to provide bundled subscriptions with data plans.

Mobile first

The app is currently available on iOS, but will be made available on other mobile platforms in the near future, and eventually on browsers. But anghami is giving priority to mobile. "We think that listening habits are clearly shifting towards mobile. Cell phones have turned into real listening devices for people," George added.

Anghami was founded by Eddy Maroun, serving as Chief Executive Officer, and Elie Habib, who holds the Chairman and Chief Technology Officer position. With over 10 years of experience working in the entertainment, music and mobile industry, Eddy, a musician himself, has close relationships with music labels and mobile operators. Elie on the other hand already has a series of startups under his belt and vast experience heading and building large platforms for telcos and building strategic relationships with operators.

The mix tape

Users can create an account in order to use Anghami or use their Facebook credentials to log in, with the latter offering users some interesting perks and features. For instance, users can share tracks in real-time on their social circles, and also peak at what their friends have been listening to and access their playlists - the digital equivalent to the  "the mix tape of old" - according to George.

Social features also include following friends and keeping track of their listening habits. Users will also be able to follow artists soon.

Anghami has one more feature in store. But you can download the app and discover (hint!) it yourself.