Feliz Navidad Changes Hands: Why Old Holiday Hits Are Hot Property

Close-up of a nylon-string classical guitar with a wooden top and rosette sound hole against a dark background


Every December, a few songs come back like clockwork. Feliz Navidad is near the top of that list. This week the recordings behind it found a new home, and the deal says a lot about why the music industry keeps paying for older catalogs.

What Happened

Reservoir Media announced on October 21 that it has acquired Jose Feliciano's recorded music catalog. His best-known recordings, including Feliz Navidad and his version of Light My Fire, were first released by RCA Victor after he signed there in the 1960s. Financial terms were not disclosed, and the announcement did not spell out every recording in the package.

The deal also includes non-exclusive rights to Feliciano's name, image and likeness. That means Reservoir can use them to promote the music, while Feliciano keeps the freedom to pursue his own projects.

Why Seasonal Songs Are So Valuable

A holiday classic is one of the most predictable assets in music. It does not need a new marketing push to be discovered. Playlists, radio, stores and family gatherings bring it back every year. For a catalog owner, that steady return is the appeal, and having image rights makes reissues, campaigns or documentary tie-ins easier to arrange.

Reservoir's leadership framed the purchase as part of a wider push into Latin music this year. Its executives praised Feliciano's bilingual recordings for helping bring Latin music to a global audience, which is exactly what Feliz Navidad has done for decades.

An Artist Worth Remembering

It is easy to reduce Feliciano to one Christmas song, but his story is bigger. Born in Lares, Puerto Rico, and blind from birth, he grew up in Spanish Harlem, taught himself guitar and played clubs and coffeehouses as a teenager before signing with RCA in 1964. Feliciano said he was excited that the partnership would help his music be enjoyed for generations.

The People Behind the Deal

Catalog sales are rarely simple handshakes. Feliciano was represented by broker Denny Marte of MPA Advisors, Jay Stollman of Jay Stollman Entertainment and attorney Brett Green. On the Reservoir side, executive vice president and global creative director Donna Caseine and founder and CEO Golnar Khosrowshahi both spoke about the deal. That level of representation is a sign of how seriously these legacy recordings are now valued across the music industry.

If you want the full details of the agreement and his career, read this report on Reservoir Media acquiring the Jose Feliciano catalog on Global Celebrity Meter.

When the first holiday playlists start this year, it is worth remembering there is a business story behind that familiar chorus.

Photo: Brett Sayles / Pexels (https://www.pexels.com/photo/brown-acoustic-guitar-on-black-textile-10315093/)

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