Primary Wave Music says it has made a “strategic investment” in POPS Music, a prominent music company based in Vietnam.
POPS claims to be “home to the largest catalog of Vietnamese and Indonesian music”.
Under the terms of the deal, Primary Wave said it will “invest capital in the company and provide additional resources for further Southeast Asian catalog investments to accelerate its IP growth in the region”.
A press release announcing the deal on Thursday (March 26) noted that POPS is “home to a vast catalog of Vietnamese and regional repertoire” and has built “one of the region’s most influential music landscapes” over the past two decades.
Vietnam-headquartered POPS Music was formed as a division of digital media and entertainment network POPS K.K.
The company, which has additional offices and operations in Japan, Singapore, Thailand, and Indonesia, says that it manages a portfolio of more than 45,000 recordings.
POPS says it has more than 15 million monthly active users across its music channels. It also says it has “850 million subscribers across all digital platforms, and nearly 67 million monthly active users across owned channels”.
“we are building a two-way bridge for global stardom.”
Esther Nguyen, POPS MUSIC
Esther Nguyen, POPS CEO, describes the partnership with Primary Wave as “a transformative milestone in the evolution of the Southeast Asian music economy.”
“By aligning POPS Music’s unrivaled digital footprint and regional expertise with Primary Wave’s world-class catalog and legendary creative resources, we are building a two-way bridge for global stardom,” said Nguyen.
“We’re thrilled to partner with POPS Music and Esther Nguyen.”
Agnes Kacicki, PRIMARY WAVE
Agnes Kacicki, Primary Wave’s Head of Corporate Development, added: “We’re thrilled to partner with POPS Music and Esther Nguyen.
“Their deep understanding of the Southeast Asian market and strong local relationships make them an ideal partner as we continue to grow our catalog investments globally.”
Larry Mestel’s Primary Wave has built a formidable portfolio of iconic catalog stakes over the past decade, spanning rights in the music of Prince, Whitney Houston, Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks, James Brown, Notorious B.I.G. and, most recently, Britney Spears.
The company, founded by Mestel in 2006, saw its buying power supercharged in 2022 by a $2 billion partnership with Brookfield Asset Management to fund music rights acquisitions.
Just days ago (on Monday, March 23), the company confirmed a definitive agreement to acquire Kobalt, which it described as “one of the world’s premier independent music publishing and technology platforms.” The transaction includes an investment from Brookfield, a strategic partner to Primary Wave.
Elsewhere in Vietnam, other recent investors in the market include Sony Music, which bought a 49% stake in 1Label JSC, the music production and artist management unit of domestic media giant YeaH1 Group.
Following the deal, Sony Music and YeaH1 Group launched a joint venture called SYE Holdings, which debuted a new boy group called UPRIZE.Music Business Worldwide
