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One of the greatest musical travesties in the world is De La Soul‘s catalog of classic albums being almost entirely absent from streaming services. But good news is on the horizon as the Tommy Boy Records catalog has been sold, which means the Long Island Hip-Hop trio’s music may be readily accessible, legally, on the Internets.
Today (June 4), it was announced that Reservoir Music has acquired the Tommy Boy Records catalog. According to Variety, the music-rights company acquired the groundbreaking label’s catalog, which also includes tunes from House Of Pain, Naughty By Nature, Queen Latifah and more, for about $100 million according to an SEC filing.
Including in Tommy Boy’s catalog are De La album like the seminal 3 Feet High & Rising, De La Soul Is Dead and Stakes Is High. Due to legal issues and sample clearance issues, the aforementioned and more of De La’s music has been virtually absent from streaming services.
And it’s not for lack of trying on Posdnous, Dave and Maseo’s part. After trying to secure the rights to the music for years, they got so fed up with the situation in 2019 that they asked fans not to stream their music because they weren’t seeing their proper share of the royalties. Also, a recent episode of Teen Titans Go! was based on De La Soul battling for their music back.
Reportedly, Tommy Boy found Tom Silverman reacquired the catalog of the label he found in 2019. But continued sample clearance issues, and De La Soul feeling like they were getting shafted when it came to their coins resulted in a standstill. And that, unfortunately, meant no prime De La Soul on your Tidal, Apple Music or whatever your streamer of choice may be.
But now in 2021, there seems to be hope.
“We have already reached out to De La Soul and will work together to bring the catalog and the music back to the fans,” a Reservoir rep told Variety. Do it for the culture.