The music industry’s landscape is shifting in fascinating ways as we head into 2025, with two remarkable stories emerging this week that showcase how legendary artists continue to shape our cultural conversation — even decades after their prime.
Let’s start with an unexpected twist in the world of music rights management. Reservoir Media, that scrappy boutique company that’s been turning heads lately, just pulled off something remarkable: they’ve acquired 90% of Miles Davis’s musical legacy. Not bad for a company whose CEO, Golnar Khosrowshahi, decorates her office with Finnish moss rather than the typical gold records.
The timing couldn’t be more perfect. With Davis’s centennial approaching in 2026, the jazz legend’s nephew, Vince Wilburn Jr., seems genuinely excited about the possibilities. “Uncle Miles was about evolution. He never looked back,” Wilburn shared, his words carrying the weight of someone who actually played drums alongside the jazz pioneer. “So you want the music to continue to evolve long after we’re gone.”
Speaking of evolution — Hugh Jackman’s taking on Neil Diamond. (Now there’s a sentence that might’ve seemed odd a few years ago.) The upcoming “Song Sung Blue,” set to hit theaters this Christmas, promises to be more than just another musical biopic. It’s shaping up as a genuine exploration of Diamond’s impact on American music, filtered through Jackman’s considerable dramatic chops.
But let’s circle back to Reservoir for a moment. There’s something refreshingly different about their approach to managing musical legacies. While industry giants like Sony throw around billions — $2.5 billion in investments last year alone — Reservoir’s been winning over artists through what you might call the personal touch approach.
“We’re not a passive holder of intellectual property,” Khosrowshahi notes, perhaps understating the case. Her team’s already cooking up plans for Davis’s centennial that sound ambitious even by today’s standards: a Broadway show, an immersive experience at London’s Lightroom venue, and — get this — a biopic with Mick Jagger among the producers.
The way Khosrowshahi runs things feels almost old-school in the best possible way. “I’m in text contact with most of my clients all the time,” she mentions casually, “whether it’s about a new baby or new music.” In an era where corporate giants dominate the industry, there’s something oddly refreshing about a CEO who still believes in personal connections.
These parallel stories — Davis’s legacy finding a new home and Diamond’s life heading to the big screen — remind us that great music never really goes out of style. It just needs the right caretakers to help it find new audiences. And sometimes, those caretakers turn out to be the ones you least expect.
As we look toward 2026, it’s becoming clear that preserving musical legacies isn’t just about keeping old recordings in a vault somewhere. It’s about finding new ways to let these timeless sounds echo through the years ahead. Whether that’s through innovative rights management or compelling biographical storytelling, the beat, as they say, goes on.
Leave a Reply