Reservoir has just acquired the master rights catalog of storied label Chrysalis Records in a broader deal involving Blue Raincoat Music.
The recently announced deal will bolster Reservoir’s already-extensive library of songs. Already, Reservoir’s assets are stretching the bounds of ‘indie’: the publishing company currently boasts more than 110,000 copyrights and more than 26,000 song masters in its library. The brand also has several offices, including locations in New York, London, Nashville, and Los Angeles.
Chrysalis Records was founded in 1968 and is home to a number of iconic names, including Blondie, Billy Idol, Sinead O’Connor, and the Ramones (though Chrysalis holds the latter’s distribution rights only in the UK market). Under the terms of the deal, Reservoir will receive the master rights to the listed artists’ works and many other musicians’ tracks. This includes more than 20,000 songs.
Blue Raincoat Music started as an artist management company but later transitioned to publishing, and the label’s master tracks will also transfer over to Reservoir Media Management.
Jeremy Lascelles and Robin Millar, Blue Raincoat’s founders, will still be employed at Blue Raincoat and Chrysalis. However, Chrysalis co-founder Chris Wright left the company shortly after the deal was announced. At the time of writing, Wright hadn’t commented on the matter publicly.
As for Reservoir, an array of intelligent deals and well-timed acquisitions have helped the brand to profit from a multitude of chart-topping hits. Deals like this only serve to further enhance Reservoir’s capabilities and influence over the market.
Of course, Reservoir isn’t the only individual or business that’s decided to invest in master rights. Much to Taylor Swift’s dismay, Scooter Braun recently scooped up her former label, Big Machine Records, which owns the masters from her first six albums, at a cool $300 million price tag. On the publishing side, Hipgnosis, a master rights investment company, has already snagged several song catalogs from high-profile hitmakers, with more than $500 million in capital to fuel the buyouts.