NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) – New York-based rights company Reservoir – best known to date for its music publishing operation – has acquired UK-based company Blue Raincoat Music and its subsidiary, the influential Chrysalis Records, the company announced Thursday (Aug. 29).
The deal includes master rights to the entire Chrysalis Records catalog, which includes such hit songs as Sinead O’Connor’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” and Generation X’s “Dancing With Myself,” as well as songs from the likes of Debbie Harry, Lucinda Williams, Suzi Quatro, The Specials, The Waterboys and more.
The London-based Blue Raincoat Music was started by former Chrysalis CEO Jeremy Lascelles and record producer Robin Millar in 2014. It is home to a standalone operating record label that houses the Chrysalis Records catalog, which consists of over 20,000 recordings released between the 1960s and 1990s.
Lascelles and Millar will continue overseeing Chrysalis Records and Blue Raincoat’s day-to-day business operations, while Blue Raincoat’s management and publishing arms will continue operating as separate entities and will not be affected by the deal.
Of the acquisition, Reservoir founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi said in a statement: “Reservoir is committed to being a full-service music company, bringing the highest-quality and most diversified offerings to our growing roster of songwriters and artists. From the first meeting with Robin and Jeremy, it was evident that we had found the right partners to expand into the independent label business.”
Added Lascelles: “We are very excited to explore ways in which both companies can benefit from each other’s skills, knowledge, and experience, and we believe this is a fantastic opportunity for Blue Raincoat, Chrysalis Records, and Reservoir as we collectively look to harness the growth in the music business, take advantage of our shared expertise, and forge ahead with a comprehensive offering for our joint roster of artists and songwriters.”
Additionally, Blue Raincoat’s distribution deal with Kobalt/AWAL will remain in place following the acquisition.
