Reservoir
Reservoir has acquired the rights to composer Lebohang Morake, professionally known as Lebo M. Lebo, who is best known for his work on The Lion King franchise. From South Africa, the renowned composer, arranger, producer and performer first broke through as a collaborator of Hans Zimmer, who has also sold part of his catalog to Reservoir, on the soundtrack for The Power of One (1992). He then reunited with Zimmer on The Lion King two years later, writing and performing songs like “Circle of Life” for the legendary Disney film. He has also worked on the soundtracks for many of the subsequent films in The Lion King franchise. This includes his soundtrack for the upcoming prequel Mufasa: The Lion King, which was co-composed by Lin Manuel Miranda. His other contributions to film soundtracks include Dinosaur, Back on the Block, The Life of Quincy Jones, Congo, Long Night’s Journey into Day, Tears of the Sun, The Legend of Tarzan, and The Woman King.
OTM Music has announced new publishing deals with Hemlocke Springs, Erick the Architect and Leon Michels, a touring member of The Black Keys and producer for Clairo, Norah Jones and Lee Fields. The company is also bringing on a new U.S. Head of A&R, Emmy Feldman, to the OTM Music team. Launched in 2017 by CEO Alex Sheridan, OTM Music is a fast-growing boutique publisher that serves a diverse array of songwriting talent, including Sudan Archives, Metronomy, Still Woozy, HONNE, Dot Da Genius and Sub Focus.
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Kobalt has signed rising Latin artist Ela Taubert and her longtime producer KEVN to global publishing agreements. Hailing from Colombia, Taubert announced her deal with Kobalt just a month after winning the Latin GRAMMY Award for Best New Artist and performing her hit “¿Como Paso?” with Joe Jonas at the ceremony.
Warner Chappell Music and All Time Low’s Alex Gaskarth have signed a joint venture publishing agreement with musician, songwriter and producer Dan Swank. Over the years, Swank has played a crucial role in the writing, producing and mixing of releases by Pale Waves, Knox, Taylor Acorn, Mitchell Tenpenny, Charlotte Sands and more.
Berlin-based Bosworth Music GmbH, part of Wise Music Group, has announced the signing of Janus Rasmussen to a global publishing deal. A producer, composer and artist, Rasmussen hails from the Faroe Islands and is based in Reykjavik. An accomplished producer, composer and artist Rasmussen started his career with the Nordic Music Council Prize-nominated debut album “Vín,” which saw him honing his minimal techno chops into an hour-long exploration of acoustic textures and electronic sound design. Aside from his own music, Janus performs alongside Ólafur Arnalds as one half of Kiasmos. Arnalds was also recently signed to the same company.
Universal Music Publishing Group‘s Classics and Screen division has signed Poor Things and Kinds of Kindness composer Jerskin Fendrix to an exclusive, global publishing agreement. A favorite of Yorgos Lanthimos, the director discovered Fendrix after the release of his debut album Winterrise and encouraged him to pursue film scoring. The acclaimed Lanthimos film Poor Things […]
Kobalt has extended its worldwide publishing deal with rap superstar Gunna. The agreement includes global synch and creative services for all of Gunna’s catalog as well as future works. “Gunna is a superstar, plain and simple,” says Kobalt CEO Laurent Hubert. “It’s been incredible to see him attain these musical achievements while at Kobalt. We are honored to continue our partnership with Gunna and his team and look forward to supporting their efforts.”
BMG has signed a publishing deal with Daniel Johns, encompassing his entire Silverchair catalog. The worldwide deal immediately includes all of Johns’ publishing interests on his sophomore solo album FutureNever, and it will eventually include his catalogue of global hits including “Straight Lines,” “The Greatest View,” “Ana’s Song,” “Freak,” “Tomorrow” and many others reverting into the deal in 2025.
Warner Chappell Music and Madfun Entertainment have extended their publishing agreement with Matt Jenkins and have purchased Jenkins’ back catalog of music. This includes songs like “Happy Anywhere” by Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani, “Buy Dirt” by Jordan Davis ft. Luke Bryan, and more.
Reservoir has announced a new deal with Grammy-winning country songwriter/producer/engineer Brent Maher. The company’s relationship with Maher began in 2018 when it acquired rights to Maher’s full catalog, and now it will also be involved in his future works as well. over the course of his career, Maher has worked on a slew of hits, including songs recorded by The Judds, Tanya Tucker, Dottie West, Tina Turner, Kenny Rogers, and more.
Warner Chappell Music has signed rising country trio The Castellows. Comprised of Ellie, Powell and Lily, the band recently signed a record deal with Warner Records and Warner Music Nashville and released their debut song “No. 7 Road.”
Budde Music and Karma Songs have extended their publishing deal with Nick Bradley, a London-based songwriter who has written songs with James Blunt, Bow Anderson, Røry, Matteo Bocelli, Don Diablo, You Me At Six, Maneskin, Kelvin Jones, NCT 127 and Flux Pavilion.
Warner Chappell Music has renewed its publishing deal with multi-platinum songwriter Rick Boardman. His credits include songs with Marshmello, Jonas Brothers, Khalid, Bebe Rexha, Louis Tomlinson, Clean Bandit, and Jess Glynne.
Universal Music Publishing Group has signed a global publishing deal with Mexican singer-songwriter Carin Leon. He’s known best for his Latin Grammy-winning song “Como Lo Hice Yo,” but he also has a slew of other popular songs, including “Ni me debes ni te debo,” “Te lo agradezco,” “Me haces tan bien,” and more.
Concord Music Publishing has signed Nashville-based songwriter and producer Aaron Eshuis. The worldwide co-publishing deal is effective immediately and also includes a selection of his existing catalog and all future works. His catalog includes cuts with Scotty McCreery, Rascal Flatts, Joe Nichols, A Thousand Horses, Catie Offerman, Kameron Marlowe, Corey Kent, Cole Swindell, Kylie Morgan, Meghan Patrick, and Mason Ramsey.
Position Music has signed producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Wilke to a worldwide publishing deal. So far, the rising hitmaker has worked on songs with Maddie Zahm, Leah Kate, Lexi Jayde, Jake Miller and more.
Reservoir Media reported Tuesday (Nov. 7) that revenue grew by 15% year-over-year to $38.4 million for the second quarter of fiscal 2024, ending Sept. 30, 2023. During the quarter, the independent music company acquired new catalogs like Joe Walsh, Latin music icon Rudy Perez and country writer Brent Maher as well as continued expansion in its Arabic music catalog through its partnership with PopArabia — contributing to its inorganic growth.
This quarter’s rise in revenue, up from $33.3 million in Q2 of fiscal 2023, was mostly thanks to growth in its recorded music division, which was up 22% from last year’s second quarter, and publishing, which was up 8%. Reservoir notes that the growth in recorded music is largely driven by Chrysalis Music (acquired in 2019) and Tommy Boy (acquired in 2021) and partially offset by lower synchronization and film/tv licensing revenue, likely hindered by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
Chrysalis’ sprawling catalog of masters includes “Dancing With Myself” by Generation X and “Nothing Compares 2 U” by Sinead O’Connor, whose catalog saw a 2,885% spike in listenership after her death earlier this quarter. Tommy Boy is home to some of hip-hop’s most pioneering players, including De La Soul, the trio that Reservoir ushered on to streaming services for the first time during Q4 of fiscal year 2023 to a solid monetary boost.
In the publishing sector of their business, Reservoir’s revenue reached $25.9 million, compared to $24.1 million in last fiscal year’s second quarter. The gain was a product of strong results in performance and mechanical revenue in particular. Performance monies were up 47% YoY and mechanical was up 25% YoY. These wins, however, were offset by changes with the Copyright Royalty Board — which regulates publishing royalty rates in the U.S. — Reservoir says, leading to a decrease in digital by $2.1 million which was recognized in the prior year quarter related to the newly affirmed royalty rates for the 2018-2022 period.
The company also signed a handful of award-winning frontline songwriters in the past quarter, including Steph Jones, Rob Ragosta, Cam Becker, Josh Record, and Wé Ani.
Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA), a closely watched metric of profitability, was up 24% this quarter to $15.9 million.
Founder and CEO, Golnar Khosrowshahi, says the company is confident in its position, both in the U.S. and emerging markets “We are encouraged by the growing opportunities internationally and welcome recent additions of El Sawareekh and RE Media expanding our presence in the emerging markets,” she says. “We will continue to pursue acquisitions in the U.S. and across the globe, and we have the right team and strategy to close accretive deals enhancing the portfolio and building long term value for the business and our shareholders.”
Jim Heindlmeyer, CFO, says that, as a result of the company’s “consistent progress against our strategic growth plan demonstrates the resilience of our business model and ongoing tailwinds from the growing music industry,” Reservoir is raising both its revenue and adjusted EBITDA guidance for fiscal 2024. “We are pleased to announce another quarter of strong performance, driven by meaningful top-line growth in both business segments,” he says.
The company’s outlook for fiscal 2024:
Revenue is anticipated to be $133 million-$137 million for the year ending March 31, 2024, with 10% growth at midpoint
Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $50 million-$52 million with 10% growth at midpoint
Reservoir Media has signed a publishing deal with Latin songwriter and producer Rudy Perez, the company tells Billboard. According to Reservoir, the deal includes the acquisition of Perez’s catalog as well as a publishing deal for his future works. Throughout his career, Perez has collaborated with artists such as Christina Aguilera, Julio Iglesias, Luis Miguel […]
Continued growth in music subscriptions and new Copyright Royalty Board mechanical royalty rates helped Reservoir Media improve revenue 31% to $31.8 million in the fiscal first quarter ended June 30, the company announced Wednesday. About two-thirds of the improvement came from organic revenue growth while the remainder stemmed from the acquisitions of music catalogs of The Spinners and Greg Kihn, among others.
Digital revenue improved 34% to $17.5 million due to “increasing demand trends for streaming music globally, something we saw evidence of in Spotify’s higher-than-expected subscriber numbers reported last week,” said CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi during the earnings call. Spotify’s premium subscribers rose 17% to 220 million in the second quarter, beating company expectations of 217 million subscribers. Monthly active users, which includes subscribers and listeners to the ad-supported service, climbed 27% to 551 million, easily topping the company’s 530-million target.
Those gains helped Reservoir’s adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to climb 36% to $10.1 million and outpaced the 20% increase in administration costs in the quarter. CFO Jim Heindlmeyer expects operating leverage — the ability to increase earnings by increasing revenue — to improve in the coming quarters. “Looking ahead, we expect revenue to outpace operating costs as this has generally been the case during our time as a public traded company,” he said.
Reservoir sounded upbeat about Spotify’s decision last week to raise the monthly price of its individual plan in the U.S. and other markets. Spotify’s increase, like the similar increases by Apple Music in 2022 and Amazon Music earlier this year, “will impact our revenues on a pretty linear basis,” said Heindlmeyer. “In other words, a 10% price increase at a streaming service will flow through to us at around a 10% increase to our pool of money.”
Last quarter’s music publishing revenue of $20.8 million was up 26% from the prior-year period and accounted for 65% of total revenue, down from 67% in the prior-year period. New mechanical royalty rates from streaming services established by the CRB for 2023 to 2027 represented “a meaningful increase” and allowed Reservoir “to recognize higher revenue associated with mechanical royalties from digital sources,” said Khosrowshahi. Publishing’s digital revenue grew 41% to $11.9 million and performance revenue improved 28% to $4.5 million. Synch revenue declined 8%, from $3.3 million to $3 million.
Recorded music revenue grew 37% to $10.4 million and accounted for 33% of total revenue, up from 31% in the prior-year period. The segment’s physical revenue grew 176% to $3.6 million. Digital and neighboring rights revenues, which combined to account for about 12% of recorded music revenues, improved 23% and 25%, respectively.
The decline in synchronization revenues — down 8% in publishing and down 68% in recorded music from the prior-year period — were the results of a timing issue, not the strike by actor’s and writer’s unions that has stopped productions of many television shows and motion pictures. Khosrowshahi said the advertising placement and movie trailer businesses are both “strong” but could have varied impacts based on when the strike ends.
Reservoir maintained its earlier fiscal 2024 guidance for both revenue ($127 million to $132 million) and adjusted EBITDA ($49 million to $52 million). “We remain confident about the growth trajectory of the global music industry and how Reservoir is positioned to capitalize on it,” said Khosrowshahi.
Earnings highlights:
Total revenue increased 31% to $31.8 million. Adjusted EBITDA rose 36% to $10.1 million.
Publishing revenue increased 26% to $20.8 million. Publishing’s digital revenue rose 41% to $11.9 million. Performance revenue jumped 28% to $4.5 million.
Recorded music revenue grew 23% to $5.6 million. Physical revenue jumped 176% to $3.6 million. Digital revenue improved 23% to $5.6 million.
Guidance for fiscal 2024 (the year ending March 31, 2024) remained at $127 million to $132 million, representing 6% growth at the midpoint. Adjusted EBITDA guidance remained at $49 million to $52 million, representing 9% growth at the midpoint.
Reservoir Media on Wednesday reported that revenues grew by 13% during its most recent fiscal year, as investments in record labels and artists rights in the Middle East added to its growth from acquiring works by North American artists like Louis Prima and Dion.
Reservoir reported $122.3 million in revenue for their fiscal year 2023 ending March 31, driven by a 9% increase in music publishing revenue and an 18% increase in recorded music revenue, both helped by the digital release of De La Soul‘s first six studio albums in early March. The legendary rap trio’s catalog netted 12.5 million U.S. song streams and sold 28,000 albums in its first week streaming, according to Luminate.
Founded in 2007, Reservoir said it grew by 8% organically and finished at the top-end of its financial targets in fiscal 2023 despite a 1%-decline in fourth quarter revenue driven by lower performance, sync and other revenues in its music publishing division, which suffered from a tough comparison to a strong year-ago quarter.
Fourth quarter music publishing revenue of $23.2 million was off 8% from the year-ago quarter when Reservoir benefitted from a one-off event in Dubai. Recorded music revenue in the quarter rose 10% to $10.8 million, in part due to the outsized performance of De la Soul’s catalog.
Reservoir has made investing in emerging markets a key prong of its growth and diversification strategy, and on a call with analysts, Reservoir CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi referred to it as “highly important to our overall strategy … as we work to become the largest holder of Arabic music copyrights.”
With its partner PopArabia, an independent music company headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, Reservoir has acquired stakes in the Egyptian label 100COPIES, the Lebanese label and music publisher Voice of Beirut and signed publishing deals with Egypt’s Mohamed Ramadan, Lebanon’s Zeid Hamdan and Moroccan hip-hop star 7liwa. In January, Reservoir announced signed publishing deals for the catalogs and future works of Indian rappers MC Altaf and D’Evil and the producer Stunnah Beatz.
Funds like Reservoir also grow inorganically through acquisitions of song catalogs, and over its past fiscal year it acquired rights by “the Saxophone Colossus” Sonny Rollins and Dion, best known for “Runaround Sue” and “The Wanderer.”
Reservoir’s chief financial officer Jim Heindlmeyer told analysts that the company expects 6% revenue growth f 9% growth for adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization for this fiscal year, compared to midpoint of its 2023 guidance ranges.
“Our outlook includes strong top-line growth expectations and margin expansion across our business segments as we continue to see a positive impact on profitability from our strategic acquisitions and benefit from secular tailwinds across the music industry,” Heindlemeyer said.
Indie music company Reservoir Media has acquired the rights to the full catalog of drummer and songwriter Enrique “Kiki” García. García, who was part of Miami Sound Machine, penned many of the group’s biggest hits in its heyday with Gloria Estefan as its lead singer, including the much synchronized “Conga.”
García also wrote Miami Sound Machine’s 1984 breakout “Dr. Beat” and co-wrote several tracks along Estefan, including “1-2-3,” “Give It Up,” and “Rhythm Is Gonna Get You” for the group’s final album, Let it Loose.
But García is best known for “Conga,” which he famously penned on a flight from Utrecht, in the Netherlands, after playing a successful club show the night before.
“The performance stayed on my mind all night,” García recounted in the book Decoding Despacito: An Oral History of Latin Music. “The next day, as we got on the plane and I sat down, this song comes flying out of my mind. I start tapping on the seat table in front of me and I’m singing, “Come on, shake your body, baby, do the song. The rest was sketchy, but by the time we landed I had it all put together. I got up and sang my idea to Emilio and he loved it from the start.”
“Conga” would go on to became an international hit, peaking at No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 8, 1986.
After leaving Miami Sound Machine, García continued working with top Latin musicians like Chayanne and Julio Iglesias, while “Conga” and his other hits remain widely and constantly licensed.
“Kiki has contributed so much to the face of modern music as we know it. His collaborations with the Miami Sound Machine brought Latin music to mainstream audiences,” said Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir’s founder & CEO, in a statement. “Embarking on this deal with Kiki marks a notable expansion of our rights in Latin American music and is an exciting opportunity to further diversify our catalog while maintaining our focus on acquiring the rights to evergreen hits.”
Primary Wave Music has acquired Skillet‘s music publishing interests as well as their recorded music royalties across five of their critically acclaimed albums, released from 2003-2016, in a multi-million dollar deal. Some of their biggest hits include “Whispers in the Dark,” “Awake and Alive,” “Feel Invincible,” “Monster,” “Hero,” and “The Resistance.”
Big Yellow Dog Music has signed BSAMZ (Brandon Sammons) to its publishing roster. With more than a decade of experience as a co-writer with artists like Lady Gaga, Kygo, Bryce Vine, Adam Lambert, Culture Club, Sam Feldt and many more, BSAMZ is still continuing to write hits, most recently with K-Pop group Girls’ Generation’s “You Think” off of their No. 1 album Lion Heart.
Reservoir has signed singer, rapper, and songwriter Armani White to his first-ever global publishing deal. The agreement entails both the artists’ back catalog and future works, including his viral hit “BILLIE EILISH” which reached No. 58 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Peermusic has signed singer-songwriter Alejo to an exclusive worldwide publishing deal. The deal encompasses all of the Puerto Rican artist’s catalog, including his new album El Favorito de las Nenas, released on May 4. The deal also includes his hit songs “Pantysito” with Feid and Robi; “Un Viaje” alongside Karol G, Jotaerre and Moffa; “Volar” by Wisin, Chris Andrew ft. Los Legendarios; and “Estrella” with boy band CNCO.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a global publishing deal with Canada-based country act Josh Ross. Named a Spotify Hot Country Artist to Watch for 2023, Ross has been building his profile with key opening slots, supporting talent like Bailey Zimmerman Nickelback, Lee Brice, Chase Rice, Brantley Gilbert.
Wise Music Group has signed a deal with DJ and producer Ron Trent. With almost 30 years of experience in the dance/electronic space, Trent first became acclaimed as a DJ with the release of Altered States at age 15. Under his new project WARM, Trent is still continuing to release enduring electronic works.
Reach Music has acquired master and publishing rights to Judas Priest‘s first two records, Rocka Rolla and Sad Wings of Destiny from Gull Entertainments. As part of their new purchase, Reach will work alongside the British metal legends to release a 50th anniversary edition of Rocka Rolla in 2024 as well as other special projects. This deal builds upon Reach’s existing relationship with the band — in 2021, Reach acquired a 50% copyright interest and the administration rights to guitarist Glenn Tipton’s song catalog, beginning with songs released in 1977.
Reservoir has launched a joint venture with American Idol producer, 19 Entertainment, which is part of Sony Pictures Television and already partnered with BMG on the master side. Through their new jv, the two will jointly sign new publishing deals with some of Idol’s contestants, and Reservoir will aid in the young writers’ development.
Peermusic Australia has inked a worldwide publishing deal with Sydney-based hip-hop/rock crossover group Triple One. The agreement includes both Triple One’s full back catalog as well as future works.
Position Music has signed artist and songwriter Sam Tinnesz to a worldwide publishing deal. The deal includes some selected catalog cuts as well as all of Tinnesz future releases, including those made under his artist project and those made as a songwriter.
Prescription Songs has signed Nashville-based artist and writer Josie Dunne. As an artist she played alongside artists like Julia Michaels, COIN, Ben Rector, and Andy Grammer. As a writer, she’s create songs with Natalie Imbruglia, Corook, Spencer Sutherland, and more. She was brought into the roster by A&R Chris Martingnago.
Warner Chappell Music has signed a global publishing deal with country sibling trio Voth. The deal was signed just ahead of their next single “You Own It,” out April 28th.