Reservoir & PopArabia Announce New Publishing Deal With Arab Icon Nancy Ajram's In2Musica

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 (MENA), announced a new publishing deal with In2Musica, the label, publisher, and production house of Lebanese star Nancy Ajram. The deal includes Ajram's entire owned catalog, including hit albums Ya Tabtab and Nancy 10, as well as future works.

Dubbed the “Queen of Arab Pop,” Nancy Ajram has made a name for herself as a singer, television personality, and businesswoman. In 2020, she was the most-streamed female Arab artist on Spotify, achieving more than 100 million plays of her songs. Ajram began her career acting on several television shows as a child, later releasing her debut studio album, Mihtagalak, at age 15. She has since released a total of 12 studio albums, including numerous chart-topping tracks like “3am Bet3ella2 Feek,” “Ma Tegi Heny,” and “Badna Nwalee El Jaw,” all of which boast over 100 million views on YouTube. Her catalog also includes the global hit “Sah Sah” with Marshmello, which was the first Arabic language song to enter Billboard's Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart.

In 2010, Ajram became the best-selling female Middle Eastern singer of the prior decade. She has since made the list of Most Powerful Arabs published by Arabian Business several times and was similarly listed by Newsweek as one of the most influential Arab singers. She has also served as a judge on MBC's reality show Arab Idol and was a coach on The Voice Kids Arabia.

Ajram commented, “I'm thrilled that In2Musica and I will be partnering with global companies like Reservoir and PopArabia, which have a history of advocating for artists' rights and taking them around the world. We're looking forward to reaching even more fans across the world with our music through this publishing partnership.”

Spek, PopArabia Founder and Chief Executive Officer / Reservoir Executive Vice President of International and Emerging Markets, commented, “We are proud to be working with Nancy Ajram and In2Musica.” He added, “Nancy Ajram is a household name in the Middle East, and with the combined expert creative forces of PopArabia and Reservoir, we look forward to helping carve out additional global opportunities for her while also supporting her career and music locally.”

Reservoir Founder and Chief Executive Office Golnar Khosrowshahi added, “This deal marks a significant addition to our catalog of music rooted in the Middle East. Working with a global superstar of Nancy's stature is a meaningful opportunity for Reservoir and PopArabia, as we continue to champion Arabic music locally in the Middle East, as well as across the globe.”

This announcement comes on the heels of several transactions completed by Reservoir and PopArabia in MENA, furthering the Companies' ongoing efforts to grow in the region and contribute to the Arabic music scene globally. PopArabia continues to be supported by twofour54, Abu Dhabi's media zone that is home to the region's entertainment industry. Also, as part of the deal, In2Musica will be represented worldwide by ESMAA, the Gulf-based rights management entity subsidiary of PopArabia that licenses performance, mechanical, and neighboring rights.

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 150,000 copyrights and 36,000 master recordings with titles dating as far back as 1900 and hundreds of #1 releases worldwide.

Reservoir frequently holds a 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 and 2022 Music Week Awards. Reservoir also represents a multitude of recorded music through Chrysalis Records, Tommy Boy Music, 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 Canadian hip-hop pioneer, 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 catalogs 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. PopArabia also launched ESMAA later that year, a rights management entity working with the global community of music stakeholders and licensing performance, mechanical and neighbouring rights in the Gulf states.

As both a label and music publisher, PopArabia is a leader in Arabic music representing a cross section of over 15,000 songs from the MENA region of all genres and eras.

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