In 1998, the label shut down, and the majority of its expansive catalog was bought by Massachusetts-based LandSpeed Records (now Traffic Entertainment).

In 1988, it signed a five-year distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records, which remained intact for its full duration.

Cold Chillin' also formed a sub-label named Livin' Large, which released Roxanne Shante's and YZ's second albums along with several titles by other artists, and was distributed by former Warner Bros. Records subsidiary Tommy Boy Records as part of its deal with Warner.

After it closed down in 1998, rights of the Cold Chillin' catalogue were purchased by Massachusetts-based LandSpeed Records, now known as Traffic Entertainment Group.

In 2006, LandSpeed started releasing new versions of the classic albums in Cold Chillin's' catalog with their original artwork intact.