PopArabia has acquired label and digital distribution company Viral Wave.
“The acquisition marks an important milestone in PopArabia’s continued growth, adding distribution services to scale the company’s existing publishing and label services across the region,” said a statement from the independent music company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
Viral Wave’s operational subsidiary in Cairo will join PopArabia’s existing team members to create a staff of over 30 in Egypt, Morocco and the UAE. The move further extends the presence of PopArabia in the region, as well as expanding the international footprint of JV partner Reservoir.
The Cairo-based team will report to newly appointed PopArabia general manager for Egypt, Rania Ibrahim, who joins the role after more than eight years with Viral Wave, most recently serving as senior commercial manager.
In her new position, Ibrahim will report directly to Spek, founder and CEO of PopArabia and EVP of international & emerging markets at Reservoir.
“This is a transformative day for PopArabia,” said Spek. “What began as a belief in the untapped value of Arabic music has grown into a regional rights platform with deep roots and truly global reach. With the acquisition of Viral Wave, we are bringing together complementary strengths to better serve artists and rights-holders as a dominant indie powerhouse. We’re across the region and embedded – with a much bigger platform now to operationally execute.”
With the acquisition of Viral Wave, we are bringing together complementary strengths to better serve artists and rights-holders as a dominant indie powerhouse
Spek
Reservoir founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi said: “Acquiring Viral Wave marks a meaningful turning point in PopArabia and Reservoir’s emerging markets story. Our strategic approach to growth in the region will enter a new phase, with even more comprehensive operations. We will be establishing a physical presence in Egypt, the longstanding cultural hub of the region, and, after spending time with the Viral Wave team in Cairo, I am confident their expertise in distribution and label services is the perfect addition to our existing capabilities across MENA.
“We’re excited to leverage that ecosystem and find moments of synergy across our network to enable even deeper support of local talent and bring their music to listeners worldwide.”
Developed by A15, the Cairo-headquartered VC firm focused on backing tech and digital businesses across the Egypt and MENA region, Viral Wave has established itself as one of the region’s leading distributors. Clients include Ramy Sabry, Tamer Ashour, Ahmed Saad, Ramy Gamal, Tamer Hosny, Ruby and Saber Rebai, as well as emerging voices like Algerian hip-hop star Didine Canon16.
Karim Beshara, managing partner at A15, said: “We’re proud to have built Viral Wave into a leading player in digital music. This sale to PopArabia reflects a shared vision – creating lasting value for artists and rights owners and contributing to the growth of Arabic music at scale.”
With this acquisition, PopArabia now administers a combined catalogue of nearly 100,000 Arabic songs, including recent investments in both established and emerging artists, such as Nancy Ajram, Mohamed Ramadan, Bedouin Burger and 7liwa, whose latest album charted in the Top 10 on the IFPI Official MENA Chart for North Africa upon release.
PopArabia now has operations across publishing, licensing, distribution, music supervision and mobile monetisation, as well as rights management through its subsidiary ESMAA.
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