American Idol judge Lionel Richie performing live. Photo Credit: Raph_PH
Reservoir Media (NASDAQ: RSVR) has officially partnered with American Idol producer 19 Entertainment to ink publishing deals with the long-running series’ contestants.
New York City-based Reservoir and 19 Entertainment (a division of Sony Pictures Television) unveiled their straightforward tie-up today, making clear that they’ll “aim to sign new publishing deals with the talented contestants” at hand. Additionally, Reservoir has committed to developing participating professionals’ “songwriting with robust support” on both the marketing and creative sides.
Meanwhile, BMG, 19 Entertainment’s “label partner,” is set to continue working with the entity behind So You Think You Can Dance notwithstanding the just-revealed pact. Late 2022 saw BMG sign American Idol alumnus Adam Lambert, who dropped an album entitled High Drama in February of this year.
19 and BMG have also released tracks from 21-year-old Noah Thompson (who won American Idol season 20) and 23-year-old HunterGirl (the runner-up on the same season). The country acts just recently returned to the series to perform a track called “One Day Tonight,” and the Sunday-night episode attracted 5.1 million viewers and scored a 0.6 rating in the 18-34 demographic, per TVLine.
In statements, execs from the involved companies touched upon the perceived potential of the union, emphasizing also that American Idol is currently in its 21st season (and its sixth on ABC).
“Reservoir has always pledged to help developing artists grow with bespoke support from our creative team,” communicated president and COO Rell Lafargue, “and we are happy to have the opportunity to demonstrate that commitment alongside 19 Entertainment and American Idol, a brand that has been supporting developing artists for over two decades.
“From John Ozier and Greg Gallo in Nashville to Donna Caseine in L.A., to Charlie Pinder and Annette Barrett in London and more, we look forward to putting the global Reservoir creative resources into these deals,” concluded the longtime Reservoir exec, whose business has to this point in 2023 acquired the music IP of Sonny Rollins, Dion, and Mannie Fresh, to name some.
And in remarks of her own, Sony Pictures Television VP of music Elissa Felman elaborated upon 19’s broader goal of establishing itself as “an artist development hub.”
“For the past few years, we at 19 have been hyper-focused on turning 19 into an artist development hub, signing artists from the incredible pool of talent discovered by the team behind American Idol,” Felman relayed in part. “We know the only way we’re successful in that venture is by partnering with some of the top teams in the business, and we couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with the amazing and creative staff at Reservoir.”