Acquisitions in India are becoming an intense area of activity for the global music business.
Recent deals have included Warner Music‘s minority investment in live entertainment and ticketing platform SkillBox, and acquisition of artist management and live events company E-Positive.
Universal Music India (UMI) also recently took a majority stake in Indian music and entertainment company TM Ventures, while Sony Music acquired a major catalog in India from Eros.
Believe, meanwhile, acquired what it calls a “Punjabi powerhouse” catalog from India-based White Hill Music in January 2024.
One of the biggest deals yet in the Indian market arrived in April 2023, however, when Primary Wave made a strategic investment in Indian record label and music publisher Times Music, a subsidiary of media giant Times of India Group.
Primary Wave said at the time that it was investing “significant capital in the company” and that it would “provide resources for further Indian catalog investments”.
The Wall Street Journal reported at the time that Primary Wave’s investment in Times Music would “help form a new joint venture valued at over $100m”.
Now that venture has acquired two prominent regional Indian record labels, Symphony Recording Co. and ARC Musicq, and there are likely more deals on the way.
According to Primary Wave Music’s David Loiterton, “These are the first of what we hope will be many more investments in legendary Indian music”.
“These are the first of what we hope will be many more investments in legendary Indian music.”
David Loiterton, Primary Wave
Commenting on Primary Wave’s partnership with Times Music and its investment in India, Loiterton, Primary Wave’s President, Indo & Asia Pacific, added: “Primary Wave partnered with Times Music because growth in our business will come from emerging markets like India, and there are libraries of legendary music that live in the hearts of local consumers.”
Elsewhere in the world, in Brazil, another key emerging market in the global music industry, Primary struck a partnership with Nas Nuvens Catalog (NNC) in February last year.
That deal, according to a Bloomberg report at the time, saw Primary Wave acquire a 50% stake in NNC, valuing the Sao Paulo-headquartered company at around USD $100 million.
Primary Wave said today that both Symphony Recording Co. and ARC Musicq are “exciting additions to the Times Music empire”.
Starting as a retail music store in 1983, Symphony Recording Co. is claimed to be the “undisputed leader of Tamil spiritual and devotional music” in the market today
“These acquisitions by Times Music represent a major milestone in the company’s growth journey and the Times Group’s ongoing expansion in the broader entertainment space.”
Vineet Jain, Times Group
Housing what’s claimed to be the largest catalog in the genre, Symphony owns over 350 audio and 100 video albums, Symphony has collaborated with what Primary Wave says are “legendary artists” in the Indian music space like Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Dr. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, and Chitra.
Primary Wave added that Symphony’s devotional songs contribute to a majority of the label’s YouTube revenue, which has doubled in the past four years. Primary Wave said that the label’s six YouTube channels have a viewership of nearly 2 billion.
ARC Musicq, meanwhile, has been distributed by Times Music since 2017 and is claimed to be the “leading Kannada music label” in the market.
Founded in 1985, the label has played a key role in the expansion of Indian folk music and film soundtracks. The label’s four YouTube channels have a combined viewership of over 2 billion views, with YouTube revenue having quadrupled in the past three years.
“These acquisitions by Times Music represent a major milestone in the company’s growth journey and the Times Group’s ongoing expansion in the broader entertainment space,” Vineet Jain, Managing Director, Times Group said.
“Times Music has an array of exciting premium partnerships coming up and we are proud to work with Symphony Music & ARC Musicq catalogues to further their global appeal.”
Mandar Thakur, Times Music
Mandar Thakur, CEO, Times Music, added: “Times Music has an array of exciting premium partnerships coming up and we are proud to work with Symphony Music & ARC Musicq catalogues to further their global appeal.”
News of Primary Wave’s investment in Times Music arrived six months after Primary Wave struck a $2 billion deal with financial giant Brookfield.
That deal included the acquisition of a minority stake in Primary Wave and Brookfield investing $1.7 billion into a new “permanent capital vehicle”.
Primary Wave was recently reported to be close to acquiring a significant stake in Notorious B.I.G.’s music catalog plus name and likeness rights in a deal that could be valued between $100 million and $150 million.Music Business Worldwide
