Reservoir acquires UK dance and electronic label New State

20 February 2025 - Press release

 

Reservoir Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: RSVR), an award-winning independent music company, today announced the acquisition of U.K. dance and electronic label New State. The deal includes New State’s entire recorded music catalog of over 13,000 tracks by artists, such as Zero 7, The Beloved, Paul Oakenfold, Dirty Vegas, D:Ream, Double Trouble, Rebel MC and Congo Natty. The acquisition will also see Reservoir continue to market and release new music by New State artists via Reservoir-owned Chrysalis Records.

New State was co-founded in London, U.K. by Chief Executive Officer Tom Parkinson, who has led the company with A&R and Marketing Director Tim Binns and Chief Financial Officer Mike Jones since the mid-1990s. Together, they helped build a record label on the forefront of dance and electronic music across house, drum & bass, UK garage, techno, trance and progressive house.

New State is best known as the home of catalogs from celebrated acts, including electronic duo Zero 7, electronic-indie band The Beloved, legendary DJ and producer Paul Oakenfold, house music group Dirty Vegas, and Anglo-Irish pop-dance band D:Ream. Over the years, these artists and their music have earned critical and commercial acclaim and have had an immense impact on the U.K. sonic landscape. New State has also released albums and single project by artists, such as Ryan Blyth, Freejak, Guru Josh Project, Paul Van Dyk, Ku De Ta and Drumsound & Bassline Smith among others. These are bolstered by a variety of catalog, label and repertoire deals such as Degrees Of Motion, The Original, Double Trouble, Congo Natty, Rebel MC, Catch Records, A-Rec / Blue Amazon and Arthur Baker’s Criminal / Minimal imprints.

Building on Reservoir’s commitment to preserving and promoting independent music, New State is the Company’s latest addition to its recorded music division and will sit alongside other storied independent labels, including Chrysalis Records, Tommy Boy Music, Philly Groove Records, and Easy Street Records, among others. Several legacy New State artists will now be marketed and promoted by Chrysalis Records in London, while the New State label will continue to operate, signing and releasing new music from electronic and dance artists under the existing brand.  

Reservoir President and Chief Operating Officer Rell Lafargue commented, “Acquiring New State is an exciting opportunity to expand our recorded music business with yet another long-standing, high-quality independent label and showcase our ongoing commitment to championing independent music. With the global reach of our Chrysalis Records team now supporting New State's legacy artists, we are well-positioned to elevate this incredible catalog, while also continuing to release new music through New State to push the brand forward.”

New State Chief Executive Officer Tom Parkinson and A&R and Marketing Director Tim Binns jointly added, “We’re delighted to do this deal with Reservoir and Chrysalis, which will enable New State to continue working with the incredible artists and their teams, further solidify the close working relationships already in place and ultimately grow the repertoire bases in a closely curated and mutually beneficial way.”