Reservoir Media has acquired New State and its over 13,000-recording catalog, which includes works from veteran DJ Paul Oakenfold (pictured). Photo Credit: Oliverrowles
Reservoir Media has officially scooped up New State, including the U.K. dance label’s over 13,000-track recorded catalog.
New York City-headquartered Reservoir disclosed the acquisition today, as multiple song-rights investors continue to zero in on electronic and dance IP. Keeping the focus on the New State play for a moment, Reservoir indicated that the transaction encompasses the “entire” recorded catalog at hand.
Among those mentioned 13,000+ works are releases from Zero 7, The Beloved, Paul Oakenfold, and Dirty Vegas, to name a few. As for New State’s “legacy” roster, the appropriate artists “will now be marketed and promoted by” Reservoir’s Chrysalis.
But the newly sold company, which per its website operates sub-labels Butterfly Effect, Maelstrom Records, and Upcycle Recordings, is poised to keep on “signing and releasing new music from electronic and dance artists under the existing brand,” Reservoir relayed.
Running with the point, longtime New State head Tom Parkinson will seemingly remain at the helm. In a statement, Reservoir president and COO Rell Lafargue touted the deal as “an exciting opportunity to expand our recorded music business.”
“With the global reach of our Chrysalis Records team now supporting New State’s legacy artists,” Lafargue proceeded, “we are well-positioned to elevate this incredible catalog, while also continuing to release new music through New State to push the brand forward.”
Regarding the expansion’s precise scope, Reservoir disclosed owning some 36,000 recordings as of 2024’s end – with the New State additions therefore increasing the IP pile’s size by more than 36%.
Reservoir also owns or controls a comparatively substantial 150,000 compositions. Against the backdrop of longstanding recording-composition distinctions and certain compositional-royalty headaches, the company posted $11.96 million in recorded revenue for calendar Q4 2024.
That represents a 19.65% YoY spike, compared to a 16.2% YoY boost for publishing in Q4 to $26.89 million. And growth for digital recorded revenue in particular approached 24% on the quarter, upping the appropriate category to $8.14 million, per Reservoir. (All told, the business confirmed spending $70.2 million on catalogs between April and December 2024.)
Then there’s the aforesaid broader focus on dance and electronic music. December 2024 saw Create Music Group buy half of Enhanced Music, to name one example, with Believe having taken a 25% interest in Romania’s Global Records over the summer.
Meanwhile, Armada Music’s dance-focused BEAT investment fund last year wrapped several deals, one for Cloud 9’s publishing unit; in October, the possibly buyout-crazed Warner Music followed by acquiring Cloud 9’s label.