Reservoir Media, in conjunction with MENA-based music company PopArabia, have acquired the catalog of Egyptian star Omar Kamal.
The deal includes both publishing and master rights to his catalog.
The deal marks the latest in the MENA region for Reservoir and its MENA partner, PopArabia. Last year, the company announced a new music publishing deal with In2Musica, the label, publisher and production house of Lebanese pop star Nancy Ajram.
The deal included Ajram’s entire owned catalog, as well as future works.
Over the past decade, Egyptian artist Omar Kamal has risen to prominence across the MENA region. He is credited with helping bring mahraganat, a genre of music mixing Egyptian rhythms, electronic music, and rap lyrics, to listeners outside of Egypt.
Kamal is best known for his hit 2020 song Mahragan Bent El Geran with Hassan Shakosh, which Reservoir said in a press release “featured controversial yet captivating lyrics that resonated with audiences throughout the Arab world and earned the song and Kamal widespread international attention”.
The song was named one of Rolling Stone’s 50 Best Arabic Pop Songs of the 21st Century, Mahragan Bent El Geran also has garnered over 700 million views on YouTube to date.
Kamal’s hits Oud Al batal and LGHBTITA have generated over 500 million and 300million YouTube, views, respectively.
In addition, in 2021 he expanded into acting, making his debut on the television series Bayn El-Samaa Wa El-Ard.
“I’m excited to strike this deal with Reservoir and PopArabia, a company built for artists and run by artists.”
Omar Kamal
On the new deal, Kamal said: “I’m excited to strike this deal with Reservoir and PopArabia, a company built for artists and run by artists. I know this partnership will be a strong motivation for us to do great work together.”
PopArabia Vice President of A&R and Acquisitions Wissam Khodur, said: “Omar is one of the hottest Shaabi artists in Egypt and throughout MENA and was able to pivot into mahraganat with his own unique twist.
“We’re thrilled to bring his music to PopArabia and look forward to helping him reach new international heights with his catalog.”
Wissam Khodur, PopArabia
Added Wissam Khodur: “We’re thrilled to bring his music to PopArabia and look forward to helping him reach new international heights with his catalog.”
Credit: Becky Yee
“Acquiring Omar’s influential catalog is another key growth moment for Reservoir and PopArabia’s market share in Egypt, the dominant Arabic music market.”
Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir
Reservoir Founder and Chief Executive Officer Golnar Khosrowshahi added: “Acquiring Omar’s influential catalog is another key growth moment for Reservoir and PopArabia’s market share in Egypt, the dominant Arabic music market.
“This deal builds upon our other recent strategic acquisitions and further supports our efforts to become a major tastemaker in the region.”
In May 2022, Reservoir and PopArabia acquired Egyptian label 100COPIES and formed a joint venture with the company to sign and develop Egyptian talent.
And, in June 2023, Reservoir and Poparabia acquired the catalog of, and struck a JV with, Saudi Arabia-based hip-hop label Mashrex.
Reservoir signed a JV with PopArabia in 2020. As part of the deal, PopArabia assumed the role of sub-publisher for all of Reservoir’s copyrights in the region, including collecting and distributing royalties and licensing music for sync.Music Business Worldwide
