New York-based music rights company Reservoir has acquired legendary US record label and music publishing company Tommy Boy Music LLC in a deal valued at approximately $100m.
Founded in New York in 1981 by Tom Silverman, Tommy Boy helped launch the careers of Queen Latifah, Afrika Bambaataa, Digital Underground, Coolio, De La Soul, House of Pain and Naughty By Nature, among others.
The acquisition follows Reservoir’s confirmation in April that it is planning to list on the NASDAQ via a merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC), Roth CH Acquisition Co. II, giving the combined company an enterprise value of $788m.
The result of that deal, expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, is that Reservoir – via the new combined company, Reservoir Media Inc – will go public on the NASDAQ under the ticker “RSVR.”
The price of the Tommy Boy acquisition was revealed in an SEC filing published today (June 4) by Roth CH Acquisition Co. II.
According to that filing, two of Reservoir’s board members, Stephen Cook and Ryan P. Taylor, are also board members of Tommy Boy and have an equity interest in both companies.
A media release states that Reservoir’s deal to buy Tommy Boy comprises 6,000+ masters including Coolio’s Gangsta’s Paradise, House of Pain’s Jump Around, and Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force’s Planet Rock.
In addition to its history with the hip hop genre, Tommy Boy also introduced EDM to mainstream audiences through releases by LFO, Coldcut, and 808 State, while helping to establish the Latin Freestyle and Latin Hip-Hop genres with releases by TKA, K7, and Information Society.
Tommy Boy Music also includes the catalogs of Amherst Records, Harlem Music, and Halwill Music, which hold masters and publishing rights for a collection of ‘70s Soul, Disco, and Jazz artists including The Stylistics, Van McCoy, and Glenn Medeiros.
Tommy Boy Music now joins Chrysalis Records, following a deal struck in 2019 to bring UK-based music company Blue Raincoat Music and its subsidiary, recorded music company Chrysalis, into Reservoir’s portfolio of offerings.
Reservoir will continue to market the catalog under the Tommy Boy label out of Reservoir’s New York City HQ with A&R and Creative led by Reservoir EVP Faith Newman and international marketing and distribution driven by Reservoir’s Chrysalis Records team in London.
“Growing our US label platform is the right next step for the company, complementing our existing business and reinforcing our dedication to building long-term value with accretive acquisitions.”
MBW reached out to Reservoir for comment and the firm’s Founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi, Reservoir told us that “the Reservoir team looks forward to welcoming the Tommy Boy catalog and artists to our family”.
Added Khosrowshahi: “Growing our US label platform is the right next step for the company, complementing our existing business and reinforcing our dedication to building long-term value with accretive acquisitions.”
