Arden Records, which describes itself as an “artist-first lo-fi music label,” has expanded its business with the launch of a new publishing division.
The company, whose name Arden means “Great Forest,” was founded by Nepalese artist sagun in 2021 in collaboration with artist services, A&R, and music distribution company Platoon, which was acquired by Apple in 2018. Co-founders include music executives Jordan Smith (S+ MGMT) and Andrew Kwan (Romantic Music Group).
Since its inception, Arden has focused solely on the lo-fi genre, creating what the company describes as an “ecosystem dedicated solely to the increasingly-popular lo-fi genre; one that champions the creativity and human touch of artists, producers and songwriters.”
The label’s roster now includes artists such as sagun himself, clay house, DAVI JUNO, French WiFi, Maono, mellodaze, NueBoo, pecna, Sleep Culture, The Tea Shop, Trankilo, URCHN, and wrongnumber.
Arden’s artists have released several themed compilations, such as an Earth Day release featuring sounds from different biomes, a 10-track collaboration with the London Symphony Orchestra titled A Timeless Motif, and annual National Parks compilations incorporating audio recorded during sound monitoring in US national parks. For the latter project, Arden partnered with Apple Maps and Apple Music to create dedicated guides.
“In an industry increasingly saturated with AI-generated music – especially within the lo-fi genre – we remain steadfast in championing our artists, ensuring their authentic musicianship receives the recognition it deserves.”
Andrew Kwan, Arden Records
The new publishing arm aims to support producers and songwriters within the lo-fi genre as the style continues to gain popularity. According to Arden, the initiative will help create additional opportunities for their artists while simplifying royalty collection.
“After 3 years of seeing how powerful a unified roster of artists can be, we are only now launching our publishing arm to explore a new creative workflow for our Arden Records’ family,” said co-founder Jordan Smith.
“There are so many companies that offer admin deals for royalty collection, so of course that is part of what we are going to do to make sure our roster gets their royalties, but our main goal is far beyond that. We only hope to educate other teams on how powerful alternate versions of songs can be & how talented our producers are & become a go-to for any production needs.”
Co-founder Andrew Kwan said the company remains committed to promoting “authentic musicianship” in an environment where AI-generated music is increasingly common, particularly within the lo-fi genre.
“Our mission as a label has always been to showcase the diverse and undeniable talents of our artists, elevating them beyond the boundaries of the lo-fi genre,” Kwan said.
“In an industry increasingly saturated with AI-generated music – especially within the lo-fi genre – we remain steadfast in championing our artists, ensuring their authentic musicianship receives the recognition it deserves. Now, through the launch of our publishing venture, we are excited to continue this mission from a fresh and dynamic perspective.”
Co-founder sagun, who has achieved over 500 million streams worldwide and several RIAA Gold-Certified records, said, “I’m excited to have our own publishing side because that will protect our artists’ creative rights and will reduce the complexities of claiming royalties. Having less to worry about as an artist outside of their creative endeavors eventually leads to new opportunities that help them grow.”
“There are so many companies that offer admin deals for royalty collection, so of course that is part of what we are going to do to make sure our roster gets their royalties.”
Jordan Smith, Arden Records
Sagun’s own accomplishments include producing and co-writing UMI‘s 2024 single wherever u r featuring V from BTS, releasing the album u r not alone with Beast Coast’s AKTHESAVIOR, and collaborations with artists including Mick Jenkins, Pink Siifu, Erick The Architect, Pink Sweat$, Kali Claire, SYML, and Dounia.
The development comes as the lo-fi music genre continues to gain popularity across the broader music industry, securing deals with labels. Last year, Lofi Records, the label and publishing arm of the popular YouTube channel Lofi Girl, landed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell Music France, a music publishing arm of Warner Music Group.
In 2021, Downtown Music Services signed five labels to its lo-fi roster: the UK’s Homework Radio and Lofi Bloom, Germany’s Effortless Audio, Canada’s Inner Oceans Records, and Sweden’s NINETOFIVE.
Music Business Worldwide