Time Warp launches Time Warp Records after 30 years
Time Warp will release its first records on Nov. 20, more than 30 years after the German house and techno festival held its first event.
The new imprint is called Time Warp Records. It will be based in Mannheim, Germany, and will sit inside Insomniac Music Group, the recorded-music arm of US promoter Insomniac Events, Billboard reported.
The label opens with two releases on Nov. 20 from two German artists whose names have not yet been announced. One of the two has a decades-long history with Time Warp. Future releases will cover house and techno alongside other electronic genres.
Every release will come out digitally and on vinyl. That dual format matters in club music, where many DJs still buy and play vinyl alongside digital files.
Release strategy, catalogue management and digital distribution will run through Insomniac's partnership with FUGA and Virgin, the distribution companies that deliver tracks to streaming services and handle rights and administration. Vinyl pressings will be serviced physically by three partners: Handle With Care in Germany, Word and Sound across Europe and Onyx in North America.
The label builds on an existing live relationship. Time Warp is promoted by Germany-based Cosmopop, founded by Steffen Charles. Two years ago Cosmopop agreed a partnership with Insomniac Events to develop and stage Time Warp events outside Germany.
That expansion continues. Insomniac lists upcoming Time Warp editions in Mexico City, Los Angeles and New York, alongside the flagship Mannheim event in April. Previous international editions have been held in Miami and São Paulo.
Insomniac Music Group is led by Joe Wiseman. Its wider Insomniac Label Group contains more than 20 sub-labels, smaller imprints that operate under one group. Time Warp Records is the first in the group to be built around a partnered festival brand rather than an artist or a genre.
The live calendar gives the launch an immediate shop window. The ninth Time Warp New York City is scheduled for Nov. 20-21, 2026, the same weekend the first records arrive, according to Insomniac. Sven Väth, KlangKuenstler and Indira Paganotto are among the artists billed for that edition, Beatportal reported.
For fans, this means the Time Warp name will now appear in record shops as well as on festival tickets. The practical test is simple: whether DJs pick up the vinyl and whether listeners follow on streaming.
