LONDON, UK (CelebrityAccess) – The world’s largest music rightsholder – Universal Music Group (UMG), announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the catalog of UK-based South Asian record label Oriental Star Agencies (OSA). The deal includes all of the label’s recordings and, where held, publishing rights.
OSA was founded 1966 by Muhammad Ayyub and his brothers, who had migrated from Pakistan to the UK’s West Midlands in 1961. The label was created due to Ayyub’s deep love for music and nostalgia for the music of his childhood. Initially approaching EMI to stock these titles, he went on to import records from Pakistan and India as he sought to meet the demand of his local community, who also craved the authentic sound of their homeland.
It operated for some 50 years from its Birmingham headquarters until it was sold to Hi-Tech Music Ltd. in 2017. The label played a crucial role in developing the UK Bhangra genre with a catalog of 18,000 songs, concerts, and video recordings. It launched the careers of numerous British and South Asian artists. In 2014, Ayyub was awarded an MBE honor for service to broadcasting, Asian music, and community services.
Highlights in the catalog include Malkit Singh (who became the top-selling Bhangra artist worldwide with nearly five million album sales), Bally Sagoo, Attaullah Khan, and the late Grammy-nominated artist Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, who passed away in 1997 – has recorded over 125 albums.
Adam Granite, executive vice president of market development at Universal Music Group, said: “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. I am particularly pleased that Universal Music Group will become the next custodian of Oriental Star Agencies. This label 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.”
OSA’s Mohammed Twaseen (Chino) said: “This is a momentous day for OSA and all our artists. Becoming part of the UMG family will turbo-charge our South Asian music, helping it get in front of more music fans worldwide. 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.”
In announcing the OSA acquisition, UMG described the deal as “another demonstration of UMG’s strategy to accelerate its growth in high-potential music markets around the world.”
