Times Music announces acquisition of regional music labels Symphony Recording Co. and ARC Musicq

PTC News Desk: Times Music on Tuesday announced their acquisition of two leading Indian regional Record Labels – Symphony Recording Co. and ARC Musicq. These two deals are the company’s first acquisitions since partnering with Primary Wave Music, the world’s leading independent publisher of iconic and legendary music, in 2023. 

The partnership witnessed publishing giant's investment in significant capital to help accelerate the company’s growth in the global markets. Both Symphony Recording Co. and ARC Musicq are exciting additions to the Times Music empire as both the labels have established universal appeal in the growing Indian music markets. 

Times Groups' managing director Vineet Jain has described the move as significant milestone in the company's growth journey.

“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. 

Mandar Thakur, CEO, Times Music also notes, “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.”

Primary Wave Music’s David Loiterton adds, “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.” He goes on, “These are the first of what we hope will be many more investments in legendary Indian music.” 

About Symphony Recording Co. and ARC Musicq

Growing from a retail music store in 1983 to South India’s top devotional music label, Symphony Recording Co. maintains a position as the undisputed leader of Tamil spiritual and devotional music. Housing the largest catalogue in the genre, with over 350 audio and 100 video albums, Symphony’s collection of music is deeply embedded in Tamilian culture worldwide. With collaborations from legendary artists in the Indian music space like Dr. Balamurali Krishna, Dr. S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, and Chitra, the company has set industry benchmarks in music and video production. The label’s devotional songs contribute to a majority of its YouTube revenue, which has doubled in the past 4 years, and the label’s six channels have a viewership of nearly 2 billion. 

ARC Musicq, a time-tested label whose music has been distributed by Times Music since 2017, also upholds a place as a leading Kannada music label. As a pioneer in the entertainment industry since its inception in 1985, the label has played a key role in the expansion of Indian folk music and film soundtracks, contributing to over 75% of A-grade movie OSTs.  The label’s four channels have seen significant growth, and much like Symphony Recording Co., has a viewership of over 2 billion views, with YouTube revenue having quadrupled in the past three years.