Reservoir Acquires the First State Media Group Catalog

Reservoir announces the acquisition of the First State Media Group (FS Media) catalog, a collection of 26,000 copyrights spanning seven decades.

Founded in 2007, FS Media contains a collection of iconic compositions from sources like Wind-up Music Publishing, Dimensional Music (including Dreamworks Music Publishing), country catalog Teracel, and Sheryl Crow.  Several songs in the catalog are tent-poles of their respective genres, with Chubby Checker’s “The Twist”, The Kingsmen’s “Louie Louie”, Duke Ellington’s “Take The ‘A’ Train”, and The Trammps’ “Disco Inferno” standing out among its many historic compositions.  Works performed by John Denver, Bob Marley, and the Carpenters, plus contemporary hits from artists like Kelly Clarkson, Creed, Evanescence, and Finger Eleven, round out the impressive collection.

Reservoir President Golnar Khosrowshahi comments, “We are thrilled to represent the writers and the high caliber of works in the FS Media catalog.  Acquisitions like these provide the ideal combination of the scale and quality we consider when strategizing the growth of our company.  This deal is one of many more to come.”

Reservoir Chief Operating Officer Rell Lafargue will spearhead integration of the FS Media catalog into the company’s affairs.  Reservoir will assume administration in the U.S. and Canada out of its New York office and will work with BMG in international territories.

Lafargue says, “We anticipate a seamless transition.  Through our numerous acquisitions, including TVT Music and the U.K. companies Reverb Music and P&P Songs, we’ve learned that these kinds of transactions are exactly where Reservoir excels. Our team and infrastructure are well positioned to take in catalogs, identify new creative opportunities, and see them thrive.  We believe we will implement yet another successful integration, and that Reservoir will provide a lucrative long term home for this wonderful catalog.”

Read more coverage of Reservoir’s FS Media acquisition in Billboard and Music Week.