Reservoir Acquires Historic Soul Catalogs

Reservoir announces the acquisitions of the historic catalogs of soul legends Willie Mitchell, Leon Ware, Norman Harris, and the Commodores’ Walter Orange and Thomas McClary.

 

Collectively, the five deals bring over 1,000 genre defining songs to Reservoir’s diverse and expanding catalog.

“The opportunity to build upon the legacies of genre defining music is rare and thrilling,” said Reservoir SVP of A&R and Catalog Development Faith Newman, who lead the company’s initiative to pursue these historic American catalogs. “When I connected with Willie Mitchell’s son, Boo, and Norman Harris’ son, Dorian, as well as with representatives for Leon, Thomas, and Walter, I let them know that it is important to Reservoir to ensure that historic catalogs continue to inspire new generations. As a Philadelphia native, soul music runs through my veins and I am very passionate about seeking out the gems in this often-underappreciated genre of music.”

Newman further adds, “Our licensing teams in Los Angeles, New York, and London will pursue new opportunities for syncs, samples, and lyric reproductions, so that these works will continue to live on for years to come. Reservoir has already licensed the Commodores’ ‘Night Shift’ in a major ad campaign for African telecommunications company MTN and watching new audiences discover this music is amazing.”