Times Music, the music arm of India's Times Group, has acquired Catrack Entertainment, a Punjabi record label founded in 1990, together with its catalog. The deal was announced on April 30, 2026, and financial terms were not disclosed.
What changes hands
Times Music takes over Catrack and its catalog of Punjabi music, which the companies describe as covering the genre's golden era. The announcement does not break down the individual rights involved or the size of the catalog. Catrack director Gaurav Trehan presented Times Music as a partner to preserve the label's legacy, while Times Music CEO Mandar Thakur called the catalog a defining part of Punjabi music culture. The group says it plans to protect this heritage and grow its audience worldwide.
The catalog
The article names artists rather than individual songs. Key names in the Catrack catalog include:
- Babbu Maan: the first artist named among the label's roster.
- Malkit Singh and Channi Singh: veteran Punjabi performers in the catalog.
- Manmohan Waris, Surjit Khan and Sukhwinder Panchhi: further Punjabi singers whose recordings are included.
- Dolly Singh: also represented in the catalog.
Catrack's YouTube channel has around 2.36 million subscribers and more than 1,600 videos, which gives the new owner an established digital audience from day one.
Why it matters
This is Times Music's third acquisition since Primary Wave Music made a strategic investment in the company in April 2023, creating a joint venture valued at more than $100 million to fund catalog purchases and expand global reach. The first two, both announced in March 2025, were Tamil devotional label Symphony Recording Co. (founded in 1983) and Kannada label ARC Musicq (founded in 1985).
The pattern is clear: Times Music is buying regional-language labels with decades of repertoire and a loyal diaspora audience. For owners of Indian and South Asian catalogs, Western capital is now reaching this market through local partners, and a well-kept archive with an active YouTube presence is a strong selling point. Regional repertoire that was once seen as niche is becoming a target for institutional money.