asia
Vobile, which provides AI-powered digital content protection and transaction services for entertainment companies, sports leagues, record labels and publishers, completed its acquisition of audio content identification platform Pex for an undisclosed amount. The team at Pex joined Vobile as part of the deal.
Live Nation Entertainment has expanded in Japan by acquiring Hayashi International Promotions (HIP), a leading live music promoter for both domestic and international artists in the country. Through the deal, the companies hope to elevate J-pop artists on the global stage while allowing international artists to gain more traction in the country. “HIP has been at the heart of Japan’s live music scene for over 40 years, and our focus has always been on delivering incredible concerts for fans,” said Kaori Hayashi, CEO at Hayashi International Promotions, in a statement. “Partnering with Live Nation allows us to keep doing this with greater scale, giving Japanese artists the opportunity to perform to new audiences and strengthening Japan’s position as a must-visit destination for major acts.”
Warner Music Group (WMG) partnered with Annual Acharia, an entrepreneur and talent strategist who founded the multi-platform production and distribution company Desi Hits! — which helped introduce Western artists like Lady Gaga and Britney Spears to South Asian audiences — to launch 5 Junction, a joint-venture label focused on discovering and developing U.S.-based artists of South Asian heritage while furthering the success of WMG’s existing artists from South Asia and its diaspora. The new label will collaborate closely with WMG’s India team, Los Angeles-based Warner Records and Toronto-based 91 North Records (a joint-venture label between Warner Music India and Warner Music Canada).
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EMPIRE signed a multi-year partnership with Cambodian music company Baramey Production. The deal will provide Baramey’s current and future roster — including its biggest star, VannDa — with global distribution, A&R support and industry connections. The Baramey roster also includes YuuHai, Vanthan, Zuana and North. “This deal is a game-changer,” said Laura Mam, CEO of Baramey Production, in a statement. “Now, Cambodian music is able to have a presence on the world stage, and EMPIRE will help us build careers for artists who have dreams to reach the international stage.”
Fan engagement platform Sesh announced it has raised $7 million in funding to date, led by Miura Global with participation from angel investors in the music and tech industries. Sesh will use the money to expand the capabilities of the platform, onboard more artists and enhance its technology. Announced simultaneously was the launch of Sesh’s “Member Card,” which lets fans “register and seamlessly download a digital pass to their phone’s wallet,” allowing them to receive direct push notifications from their favorite artists. Sesh allows artists full ownership of fan data, including email, location, name, date of birth and engagement insights, letting them cultivate their fan bases without going through third-party platforms. The company currently works with more than 250 artists, including Yeri Mua, Anitta, Alleh & Yorghaki, Mau y Ricky, Lasso, Timø, Nathy Peluso and Zoe Gotusso.
Dutch event management platform Stager signed a partnership with Spotify that will enable all users of the platform to list artists’ upcoming events at their venues and festivals directly on those artists’ official Spotify pages. According to Stager, more than 21,000 artists played a show at a venue, club or festival using the platform last year.
UnitedMasters partnered with EVEN, a direct-to-fan sales platform. Under the deal, UnitedMasters’ Partner artists (and, soon, its SELECT artists) will skip the waitlist and enjoy immediate access to EVEN resources, including direct music sales, daily payments, fan data ownership, marketing support and more. According to the companies, UnitedMasters artists such as Raheem DeVaughn, Casey Veggies, Stocks and Serayah have already enjoyed success on EVEN.
WieRok Entertainment Group acquired Christian music label Amplo Records, which was originally established in partnership with WieRok founders Lance and Tammie Wieland and Christian music industry executives Marcus Rixon and Jay Speight. Through the acquisition, singer/songwriter Nathan Sheridan, songwriters Phoebe Scott and Kolby Koloff, and songwriters/producers Andrew Barlow and Cole Tague will come solely under WieRok. The company, which launched its flagship WieRok Records label in January, also announced its expansion into the general market by establishing Wie3 Records, which signed “popera” vocalist David Ask.
Manifest Financial, a new financial solutions platform co-founded by Michael Cavallaro and Manny Alvarez that serves creators and artists, launched a business-banking mobile app and struck partnerships with music distributor Too Lost and hoo.be, an invite-only link-in-bio tool for brands and creators. “Creators face unique challenges that don’t fit conventional banking categories. That’s why we built Manifest Financial, to bridge this gap and provide the tailored financial services that the creator economy desperately needs,” said Cavallaro in a statement. Through the deal with Manifest, Too Lost founder/CEO Gregory Hirschhorn says Too Lost artists will enjoy “seamless access to smarter business banking solutions, faster payments, and financial tools designed for their careers.”
Honduran artist Key-Key’s indie label Latin Music Group — where he serves as partner alongside CEO/co-founder Neil Levine — announced a global distribution deal with The Orchard. As part of his strategic partnership with Latin Music Group, Key-Key will “now have access to a dedicated team and the resources to push his career even further, with global distribution ensuring his music reaches new international audiences,” according to a press release. “This isn’t just about making music; it’s about building something meaningful and lasting, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to turn my passion into a global and lasting impact,” the “Tengo Un Plan” singer said in a statement. — Griselda Flores
ASM Global struck a deal with Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) to assume the management and operation of special events at the school’s 7,637-seat Stuart C. Siegel Center. Under the agreement, ASM will work to attract outside events, including concerts, to the arena.
AEG has unveiled the company’s plans for realigning its international business divisions, promoting Adam Wilkes to the newly created position of president/CEO of AEG Presents, Europe and Asia-Pacific and elevating Alex Hill to lead AEG’s global real estate and venue operations outside the U.S. in the new position of president/CEO of AEG International. In his new […]
EMPIRE is officially stepping into Asia as the powerhouse independent label announces the appointment an executive with a track record of fostering crossover talent. Known for being pivotal in developing several breakout Asian acts, Jeffrey Yoo has been appointed EMPIRE’s senior vp of East Asia, the company announced on Thursday (Oct. 31). The seasoned exec […]
Universal Music Group (UMG) has acquired the catalog of Oriental Star Agencies (OSA). Founded in 1966 in London by Pakistani immigrants Muhammad Ayyub and his brothers, OSA is known as one of the United Kingdom’s top labels for South Asian talent.
The OSA catalog consists primarily of recorded music, but the new UMG deal encompasses all of its master recording holdings and its publishing. This includes 18,000 songs and video recordings, including from Malkit Singh, a well-known Bhangra artist; Bally Sagoo; and Attaullah Khan. It also includes works from Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, a prolific, Grammy-nominated artist and film composer who is known for popularizing a form of Sufi devotional music, called “qawwali,” outside of his native Pakistan.
The sounds of OSA artists were able to permeate the United Kingdom’s musical consciousness even further at the turn of the 21st century, when several older OSA tracks were placed on the soundtrack of the hit soccer movie, Bend It Like Beckham, released in 2002. The label continued to operate independently until 2017 when it sold to Hi-Tech Music, another British record label.
According to IFPI’s Global Music Report, the Asian recorded music market grew 15.4% in 2023, marking the third consecutive year the continent has experienced double-digit revenue growth. Now, Asia accounts for just under 23% of the global market and is expected to continue to expand. Japan, South Korea and China account for the majority of Asia’s global music exports, but South Asian countries overall continue to grow year after year.
In recent years, as the music catalog market grew red hot and competition among buyers became greater than ever, some investors showedincreased interest in acquiring music from typically underrepresented genres and nationalities in the catalog market. Reservoir, for example, invested in new relationships and catalogs in Saudi Arabia and Egypt; Wahoo Music Fund One focused solely on Latin music purchases; Singapore-based blackx tried to corner the Asian music market; and Armada Music’s BEAT started buying up dance catalogs.
According to a press release about the OSA deal, the catalog acquisition “complements UMG’s current service offering and will help drive momentum for the South Asian music market, enabling local artists to reach the largest possible audience in the global community.”
“This acquisition of a hugely successful and iconic British-Asian label specializing in South Asian music will further increase Universal Music Group’s exposure to, and participation in, a fast growing and rapidly changing market,” said Adam Granite, executive vp of market development at UMG, in a statement. “I am particularly pleased that Universal Music Group will become the next custodian of Oriental Star Agencies, a label that has played an unparalleled role in bridging the musical identities of the UK and South Asia, taking the unique sounds of its artists to a broad audience. We believe this catalog has huge potential, and look forward to taking it to the next generation of music fans globally.”
“This is a momentous day for OSA and all our artists,” added Mohammed Twassen of OSA. “Becoming part of the UMG family will turbo-charge our South Asian music, helping it to get in front of more music fans across the world. The past decade has seen a true global explosion of music from the region, and now, under UMG’s stewardship, the next decade promises to be even more exciting.”
Warner Music’s affiliates in Canada and India are teaming up for 91 NORTH RECORDS, a joint venture with the aim of identifying and launching artists of South Asian heritage.
Said to be a first-of-its-kind JV, the new entity is guided by celebrated artist and producer Ikwinder “Ikky” Singh, who has chalked up more than two billion combined streams with such songs as Shubh’s “Baller”, Diljit Dosanjh’s “Chauffeur” and Sidhu Moose Wala’s “Bambiha Bole”.
Ikky, who launched his own label, 4N Records, in partnership with Warner Music and Coalition Music in 2021, serves as creative director for 91 NORTH RECORDS.
The venture launches to the public today (Aug. 23) with its first signings, Canadian-based Punjabi artists Karan Aujla and Jonita Gandhi, both of whom work closely with Ikky and A&R director Charlie B.
“I’ve always been fascinated by the blending of Indian and Western sounds into culturally impactful, innovative music,” Ikky comments in a statement. The new business “exists to elevate artists pursuing this fusion. Punjabi and South Asian music already competes worldwide, and I’m thrilled to collaborate with emerging talents, showcasing and amplifying what they have to offer. This is no experiment; it’s the future.”
91 NORTH RECORDS was presented Tuesday with a special event at Warner Music Canada’s offices in Toronto. Its name is a reference to India’s country code and Canada’s geographical location, and the logo is inspired by India’s national flower — the lotus.
“There is an incredible new generation of talent rising, influenced by their South Asian heritage, and we want to make sure these artists are represented both here and around the world,” comments Kristen Burke, president, Warner Music Canada. The label “allows artists to be truly authentic, and our global network gives us the opportunity to showcase their culture on a global stage.”
Adds Jay Mehta, managing director, Warner Music India: “This is certainly going to be a gamechanger initiative for artists who will now have global support from A&R, marketing, collaborations and more.”
Canada is home to almost 2.6 million people of South Asian heritage. Those expats have a “strong musical connection” with the subcontinent, reads a joint statement from Warner Music Canada and Warner Music India.
Punjabi-Canadian acts accounted for three of the top 10 tracks in India last year, according to data supplied by IFPI.
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