Reservoir Buys Tommy Boy Music Label for $100 Million

 

Reservoir has acquired the groundbreaking hip-hop and electronic label Tommy Boy Music for around $100 million.

Although the press release does not mention the amount, a SEC filing has revealed the price of the deal to buy the New York-based label. The deal comprises 6,000+ masters including Coolio’s smash ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’, House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ and Afrika Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force’s ‘Planet Rock.’

Tommy Boy Music helped launch the careers of Hip-Hop icons such as Queen Latifah, Coolio, De La Soul, Naughty By Nature, Afrika Bambaataa, Digital Underground, House of Pain, and Force MDs, among many others. Apart from this, it introduced EDM to mainstream audiences through releases by LFO, Coldcut, and 808 State.

Reservoir will continue to market the catalog under the Tommy Boy label out of Reservoir’s New York City headquarters.

This news of acquisition follows Reservoir’s revelation 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.

Tommy Boy has also been marred with legal issues lately. De La Soul announced back in 2019 that they’re ending their relationship with Tommy Boy Records over failed negotiations around fair royalty rights to the group’s back catalog.

“After 30 years of profiting from our music and hard work…and after 7 long months of stalled negotiations, we are sad to say that we’ve been unable to reach an agreement and earn Tommy Boy’s respect for our music/legacy,” the group wrote on Instagram. “With some helpful consulting and long careful consideration, we’ve decided we will not do our 30+ years the disservice of settling on Tom Silverman’s terms.”