Reservoir Media (NASDAQ: RSVR) is officially going to provide a catalog of hip-hop trio De La Soul to leading streaming services.
Reservoir spoke in detail about the imminent (and long-awaited) arrival of 35-year-old De La Soul in streaming services through an official release today. Previously members of Posdnuos (real name Calvin Mercer), Trugoy (David Jude Jolicker) and Maseo (Vincent Mason) clearly stated their dissatisfaction with the revenue sharing terms that Tommy Boy Music offered for streaming.
Needless to say, given the new Reservoir announcement, this hang-up with money prevented De La Soul projects, including 3 Feet High and Rising (1989) and De La Soul Is Dead (1991), from becoming available to fans through digital services. .
But since Reservoir got Tommy Boy himself in June 2021, De La Soul has now given the green light to the long-awaited debut of the streaming service.
Reservoir indicated that “the band’s iconic catalog will be released for the first time on digital streaming services on Friday, March 3, to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the release of 3 Feet High and Rising.”
This catalog specifically refers to Tommy Boy’s three-part albums, which, in addition to those mentioned above, include Buhloone Mindstate (1993), Stakes Is High (1996), Art Official Intelligence: Mosaic Thump (2000) and AOI: Bionix (2001). The New York-headquartered company is ready to provide “support” for the rollout, while Chrysalis Records (which Reservoir bought in 2019 and subsequently relaunched) is expected to handle the actual distribution.
In addition, according to Reservoir, Chrysalis “will provide the group with comprehensive marketing support with a powerful release campaign.” Vinyl, CDs and cassettes De La Soul (as well as a seemingly large collection of goods) already available for pre-order.
Finally, as for the details of the multifaceted announcement, De La Soul will release a digital edition of “The Magic Number” (the opening track, in addition to the intro, on 3 Feet High and Rising) on Friday, January 13. “Cassingle” will start shipping on the same day, according to the list of products in the online store De La Soul.
In a statement, De La Soul members spoke about the close relationship they have with Reservoir, and Faith Newman, executive vice president of A&R and catalog development, noted in her own remarks that placing the band’s albums on streaming services has been a top priority since Tommy Boy. the ransom is closed.
“When Reservoir acquired Tommy Boy, the first thing we did was call De La Soul,” Newman said. “We have vowed to bring their music to streaming, and it is very important for our team to fulfill this promise and introduce a whole new generation of listeners to one of the most important catalogs in the history of hip-hop.”
Similarly , Reservoir President and chief Operating Officer Rell Lafargue partially reported: “We discovered this opportunity when we were in the preliminary stages of acquiring Tommy Boy. Over the past 18 months, we have worked tirelessly with De La Soul, paying increased attention to respecting the band’s original musical details, including bringing Prince Paul and the original team into the studio to prepare the catalog for streaming.”
In October 2022, Reservoir signed a contract with hip-hop artist (and one of the founders of Naughty By Nature) KeiGi, having bought a share in the catalog of producer “Mama Said Knock You Out” Marley Marl in the summer.
