As Casablanca’s music scene grows, its musicians struggle

Casablanca's live music circuit, rooted in mid-century clubs like Club 84 and La Notte, has grown into a defining feature of the city's nightlife, with venues ranging from hotel lounges to casual restaurants competing for bands versed in Chaabi, Tarab and Western genres.

Musicians like Walid Rakik piece together a living from tip splits and cachets, often playing multiple sets across venues in a single night while holding other jobs on the side. Industry figures describe cachets as flat but declining even as the number of venues and demand for live performance has grown.

Performers interviewed describe a job requiring mastery of hundreds of songs across genres, sustained band chemistry, and nightly consistency, for compensation that remains informal and unpredictable. Venue operators and musicians alike note the audience has grown more discerning even as the pay structure hasn't caught up.

The full dispatch is available from the source below.