Reservoir Continues to Execute Against Emerging Markets Growth Strategy
May 10 2022 - 8:00AM
Reservoir Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSVR), an award-winning independent
music company, in conjunction with PopArabia, the leading music
publisher and independent music company in the Middle East and
North Africa, announced two new deals as the Company continues to
execute on its emerging markets growth strategy. The deals include
the signing of Egyptian rapper and singer Mohamed Ramadan to a
worldwide publishing deal, which includes hits from his catalog and
future releases. Reservoir and PopArabia separately
announced the acquisition of Egyptian label 100COPIES, as well
as a joint venture with the company to sign and develop Egyptian
talent.
Considered a household name in the MENA region,
Ramadan is an accomplished film actor and bona fide musical star.
In 2019, he was crowned the Most Popular Artist in Africa by AFRIMA
(the All Africa Music Awards), and to date, Ramadan has amassed
over 4.65 billion views on YouTube, including for hits “Ensay” with
Saad Lamjarred and “Ya Habibi” with French artist, Gims. With over
one million Spotify monthly listeners and more than 20 million
Instagram followers, Ramadan has cultivated a strong fanbase and is
primed for success beyond the MENA region. He is currently working
on new material, which features collaborations with international
artists and producers.
On the deal Ramadan said, “I’m very happy to be entering this
new deal with Reservoir and PopArabia. I look forward to reaching
next levels together.”
An early champion of Mahraganat, the uniquely
Egyptian musical genre that originally emerged in 2011, 100COPIES
was founded in 2006 by Cairo-based producer Mahmoud Refaat. The
label made early investments in the genre, inspired by young
musicians mixing Arabic rap with electronic music and traditional
Egyptian elements, including breakout duo, El Sawareekh. Their
track “Laa” has generated over 100 million views on YouTube and
helped establish them across the Arab world and through the
diaspora.
These two Egyptian-based deals further diversify
Reservoir and PopArabia’s robust efforts in the region, supported
by twofour54, Abu Dhabi’s media zone that is home to the region’s
entertainment industry. Reservoir and PopArabia’s other recent
signings include Lebanese music icon Zeid Hamdan, Moroccan
superstar 7liwa, and artist collective ARXP Cartel. Hamdan’s latest
artist project, Bedouin Burger, participated in a virtual concert
series for NPR’s Tiny Desk Meets globalFest, an acclaimed annual
festival and non-profit organization for curators, artists, and the
performing arts field. Additionally, 7liwa has made waves with his
recent single “Hallelujah,” which quickly amassed over three and a
half million views on YouTube since release. The collective, ARXP
Cartel, which features a rotating line up of the biggest, most
buzz-worthy rappers in the MENA region, aims to unify listeners
across the region’s 22 states. Their debut single “Styla Jamaiki”
is expected to be released June 9, 2022.
Reservoir Founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi
commented, “MENA was the world’s fastest growing region in 2021,
with revenue growth of 35%, according to the IFPI’s recent report.
We are proud to have created a robust presence in the market ahead
of that growth through our work with PopArabia.” She added, “We
look forward to further solidifying Reservoir as an influential
player in these markets and simultaneously fulfilling our
commitment to facilitate the movement and cultural impact of
Eastern talent in the West.”
“It’s really gratifying to see the goals of our
Reservoir and PopArabia partnership continuing to come to fruition
through these new deals across regional talent,” added Spek,
PopArabia Founder and Reservoir EVP of International and Emerging
Markets. “In particular, Egyptian artists have long been a driving
force in Arabic popular music; the deals with Mohamed and 100COPIES
offer important opportunities for PopArabia. We will continue
executing its regional strategy by establishing our footprint as a
major player in Arabic music, investing in catalogues and talent,
and taking this music to all corners of the globe.”
ABOUT RESERVOIR
Reservoir is an independent music company based
in New York City and with offices in Los Angeles, Nashville,
Toronto, London, and Abu Dhabi. Reservoir is the first
female-founded and led publicly traded independent music company in
the U.S. Founded as a family-owned music publisher in 2007,
Reservoir has grown to represent over 140,000 copyrights and 36,000
master recordings with titles dating as far back as 1900 and
hundreds of #1 releases worldwide. Reservoir holds a regular Top 10
U.S. Market Share according to Billboard’s Publishers Quarterly,
was twice named Publisher of the Year by Music Business Worldwide’s
The A&R Awards and won Independent Publisher of the Year at the
2020 Music Week Awards.
Reservoir also represents a multitude of
recorded music through Chrysalis Records, Tommy Boy Records, and
Philly Groove Records and manages artists through its ventures with
Blue Raincoat Music and Big Life Management.
ABOUT POPARABIA
PopArabia was founded in 2011 by former
Canadian hip-hop artist, music executive and entrepreneur Spek, in
partnership and with ongoing support from twofour54 Abu Dhabi - the
media zone that is home to the region’s entertainment industry. As
a sub publisher, PopArabia represents the world’s leading music
catalogues across the MENA territories and has pioneered music
licensing in the region for over a decade. In 2020, PopArabia
announced a partnership and joint venture with New
York-headquartered Reservoir to sign and develop Arabic talent to
export around the world.
Source: Reservoir Media, Inc.
Media Contact
Reservoir Media, Inc.
Suzy Arrabito
Vice President, Marketing & Communications
sa@reservoir-media.com
www.reservoir-media.com
Investor Contact
Alpha IR Group
Jackie Marcus or Chris Hodges
RSVR@alpha-ir.com
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