Times Music acquires Catrack to expand Punjabi catalogue

MUMBAI: Old beats, new busines,Times Music is turning nostalgia into a growth strategy. The Times Group-owned label has acquired Catrack Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., marking its third strategic buy and deepening its partnership with Primary Wave Music. The move brings a culturally rich Punjabi music catalogue into Times Music’s portfolio, signalling a continued push to monetise legacy content at scale. Founded in 1990, Catrack played a defining role in shaping Punjabi music’s “golden era”, with a catalogue featuring artists such as Babbu Maan, Malkit Singh, Channi Singh and Dolly Singh. It also backed early voices like Manmohan Waris, Surjit Khan and Sukhwinder Panchhi names that continue to carry recall across generations.

For Times Music, the acquisition is less about archival pride and more about future play. The catalogue, already digitally active, opens up monetisation avenues across sync deals, film and OTT integrations, brand collaborations and contemporary remixes areas where legacy music is seeing renewed commercial traction.

The deal follows Times Music’s earlier acquisitions of ARC Musicq and Symphony Recording Co., positioning the company as an active consolidator in India’s fragmented music IP landscape.

The Times Group managing director Vineet Jain said the acquisition reflects a continued commitment to amplifying India’s cultural voices globally. CEO Mandar Thakur described the Catrack catalogue as a “cultural treasure” with enduring relevance, while Primary Wave’s David Loiterton highlighted its cross-generational appeal as a key driver for global expansion.

As streaming platforms and short-form video continue to fuel demand for recognisable, nostalgia-driven tracks, Times Music appears to be betting on the long tail of legacy, where yesterday’s hits can still find tomorrow’s audience.