The Viral Wave and PopArabia teams. Photo Credit: PopArabia
Reservoir Media-backed PopArabia has once again expanded its reach in MENA, this time with the acquisition of distributor and label Viral Wave.
Reservoir and Abu Dhabi-headquartered PopArabia, having coordinated on catalog plays and more in recent years, announced the purchase today. With clients including Ramy Sabry, Ruby, Tamer Ashour, and Ahmed Saad, Viral Wave deals in straight distribution, YouTube and social media management, and “premium production services” alike, according to its website.
As emphasized by the involved companies in their formal release, the just-sold entity is also making waves as a label. Furthermore, the newly finalized transaction means PopArabia “now administers a combined catalog of nearly 100,000 Arabic songs.”
Regarding hard numbers, PopArabia and Viral Wave (which was “developed by” A15, a Cairo-headquartered VC) opted against disclosing the sale’s precise size.
(Besides Viral Wave, A15 has interests in startups specializing in emerging-markets advertising and MENA-tailored digital marketing, per the appropriate site. Additionally, its portfolio includes Menthum, which is billed as “Egypt’s leading fintech platform.”)
But they did confirm that the selling business’s Cairo staff will remain in place under PopArabia, which now has more than 30 team members across Egypt, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates.
(Egypt in particular’s been a big focus for Reservoir and PopArabia, referring in part to their IP agreements with RE Media, El Sawareekh, and, in March 2025, Omar Kamal.)
Plus, Viral Wave senior commercial manager Rania Ibrahim has transitioned to Egypt GM at PopArabia. In the role, Ibrahim – previously a higher-up at Qanawat, which Warner Music bought in 2022 – will report to PopArabia founder and head Spek.
In a statement, Spek, who doubles as Reservoir’s EVP of international and emerging markets, touted the deal as “bringing together complementary strengths to better serve artists and rights holders as a dominant indie powerhouse.”
Reservoir founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi, for her part, described the buyout as “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,” Khosrowshahi continued in part. “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.”
Reservoir certainly isn’t alone in spearheading expansion initiatives throughout MENA, where the aforementioned Warner Music last year launched a Riyadh-based label in partnership with Saudi Arabia’s Merwas. Also in Saudi Arabia, 2025 saw Sony Music ink a talent-discovery pact with LuxuryKSA; in December, Legends Global closed things out by securing a sizable venue-management tie-up with the Events Investment Fund (EIF).
