Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does a music and video recordings retail business do?
It carries out the retail sale of physical music and video recordings through specialised stores, selling records, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, video tapes, and blank recording media.
2. What products can a music and video recordings store sell?
The activity covers musical records, audio tapes, CDs, and cassettes, films on DVD and video tape, and blank tapes and discs for recording and storage.
3. Is there still demand for physical recordings when most content is streamed?
Yes, as a specialist niche. Collectors and enthusiasts value physical ownership, sound, and artwork, and a culturally diverse population sustains demand across many languages and traditions.
4. Who buys physical music and video recordings in the UAE?
Collectors and enthusiasts, customers buying recordings as gifts, and a diverse population seeking music and film in languages that mainstream streaming platforms underserve.
5. Are blank tapes and discs part of this activity?
Yes. The retail sale of blank tapes and discs for recording, archiving, and storage is included alongside the retail sale of recorded music and video.
How to Start a Music and Video Recordings Retail Business with Meydan Free Zone
Most music and film in the UAE now reaches people through a stream, and yet specialist stores selling physical recordings have not closed their doors. Collectors want editions they can hold, enthusiasts want what an algorithm does not surface, and a population drawn from across the world wants music and film in languages the major platforms underserve. Retail sale of music and video recordings in specialised stores is that curated trade.
The UAE movie and entertainment market was valued at USD 369.9 million in 2023 and is forecast to reach USD 599.3 million by 2030, with music and videos identified as the fastest-growing product segment, according to Grand View Research¹. Most of that consumption is digital: across the Middle East and North Africa, streaming made up 97.5 percent of recorded music revenue in 2025, according to IFPI².
Physical media retail is therefore a specialist trade rather than a mass market, sustained by collectors, by enthusiasts, and by a population diverse enough to want recordings across many languages and traditions.
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Sources: Grand View Research (2025); IFPI Global Music Report 2026 (2026).
The demand is specific rather than broad, and it does not try to compete with streaming on convenience. Collectors and enthusiasts buy physical recordings for the artwork, the sound, and the ownership a subscription does not give. The UAE's population is large and exceptionally varied, which sustains demand for music and film across languages and traditions that mainstream platforms underserve.
Physical recordings remain a gifting category, and blank tapes and discs still serve recording, archiving, and storage needs. A specialist store that curates well, rather than stocking broadly, meets a demand that streaming has narrowed but not closed.
From curated music and film recordings to blank media for everyday use, the UAE rewards specialist retailers who stock what a streaming service cannot replace.
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Who is this for?
- Music recordings retailers: Stores selling musical records, CDs, audio tapes, and cassettes to customers through specialised retail outlets.
- Video recordings retailers: Stores selling films and programmes on DVD, video tape, and other physical video formats.
- Specialist and collector store operators: Operators of curated stores serving collectors and enthusiasts, also stocking blank tapes and discs for recording.
Meydan Free Zone offers 100% foreign ownership, zero percent corporate tax on qualifying income, full profit repatriation, and a fully digital licensing process, providing a regulated and cost-efficient base from which to operate a specialist music and video recordings retail store serving the UAE's diverse market.
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4762.00 - Retail Sale of Music & Video Recordings in Specialised Stores
Under this activity, you are licensed to carry out the retail sale of music and video recordings through specialised stores.
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There are clear boundaries on this activity. As defined, it is the retail sale of music and video recordings, and of blank recording media, through specialised stores. It is the retail sale of these physical recordings to customers; it does not extend to the production of music or film, or to the wholesale distribution of recorded media, each of which is a separate activity.
The line is precise. If your business sells music and video recordings and blank media at retail through a specialised store, you are in. If you produce recordings, or distribute them wholesale, you are not.
Third-Party Approval: Approval from the Ministry of Culture and Youth is required after the trade license is obtained.
Anti-Money Laundering Compliance: This business activity is exempt from AML compliance requirements.
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Footnotes
¹ Grand View Research. UAE Movie and Entertainment Market Size and Outlook. Grand View Research, 2025.
² IFPI. Global Music Report 2026. IFPI, March 2026.
