Promouvoir son image et « se faire un nom » dans la scène rap proche-orientale : l’exemple de SoundCloud

Abstract

This article examines the role of the SoundCloud platform in building careers for independent rappers and producers in the Middle East, particularly in Jordan and Palestine. Based on an ethnographic survey conducted between Amman and Jerusalem, the author analyses how artists use this platform to make themselves known, distribute their music and navigate a digitized musical ecosystem. The study draws on Popular Music Studies and studies of digital platforms to examine three main areas. The first concerns visibility, through the recommendation tools and playlists offered by SoundCloud, which provide local and international exposure. The second looks at the forms of monetization put in place by the platform, such as the fan-powered royalties programme, and at the difficulties encountered by artists in appropriating the distribution tools. The third area explores the social dimensions of SoundCloud, as a digital space that encourages artistic interaction, but also in relation to the physical practices (concerts, parties, collaborations) that are specific to the regional rap scene. The article examines the ways in which SoundCloud is used in a context of unequal access to cultural, economic and technical resources. It seeks to understand how the platform acts as a potential lever of professionalisation for artists evolving outside the dominant circuits, while linking digital logics to the dynamics of the local scene in the Bilad al-Sham.