Reservoir (Reservoir Media) is an independent music rights company headquartered in New York.
Founded in 2007 by Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir now controls over 130,000 song copyrights and 26,000 master recordings.
Reservoir’s publishing catalog, which goes all the way back to the early 1900s, includes songs written and performed by vintage acts like Billy Strayhorn, Hoagy Carmichael, and John Denver.
In the modern day, hits written/co-written in Reservoir’s catalog include tracks performed by the likes of Lady Gaga, Camila Cabello, Bruno Mars, Cardi B and more.
The company’s roster of active writers and producers includes James Fauntleroy, Ali Tamposi, and Jamie Hartman, plus 2 Chainz, Young Thug, and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie.
The company also represents a multitude of recorded music through Chrysalis Records and Philly Groove Records and manages artists through its venture with Big Life Management.
In addition to its New York office, Reservoir runs offices in Los Angeles, Nashville, Toronto and London.
Reservoir acquisitions of Chrysalis Records and more
In addition to its organic A&R, Reservoir has gained a reputation as an aggressively acquisitive company in both the music publishing and master rights sectors.
Recent examples include its buyout of historic US music publishing house Shapiro Bernstein, which Reservoir acquired in May 2020.
As a result of that acquisition, Reservoir took possession of over 16,000 copyrights, including songs recorded by The Beatles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Judy Garland, Michael Jackson, Edith Piaf, Patsy Cline, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, Elton John, and many more.
In August 2019, Music Business Worldwide broke the news that Reservoir had acquired the historic catalog of Chrysalis Records, spanning 20,000 recordings.
The deal included master rights to Chrysalis Records’ full portfolio of hits, including Sinead O’Connor’s Nothing Compares 2 U, Generation X’s Dancing With Myself, and more.
Reservoir acquired Chrysalis as part of an acquisition of UK-based music company Blue Raincoat Music.
Blue Raincoat’s management and publishing arms were unaffected by the Reservoir acquisition.Music Business Worldwide