Kobalt Music Group has struck a partnership with London-based publishing company Geo Music Group, providing funding for international songwriters and global administration services.
The agreement, announced Thursday (February 12), gives Geo Music’s roster access to Kobalt‘s royalty collection, accounting and payment infrastructure.
Kenny McGoff, EVP Head of Creative UK & GSA, of Kobalt said: “We are always looking to grow and reach new places and people, and with Daniel [Seal] and Geo Music Group, the world is his oyster.”
Daniel Seal founded Geo Music after working as an A&R executive at Sony Music Publishing, Black Butter and Global. During his tenure at those companies, he signed artists including Tems, Skillibeng, Jonny Coffer, Nines and Kamal. Some of those signings resulted in multi-platinum releases, Kobalt said.
McGoff added: “Having known Daniel throughout his career, it did not surprise me to see him launch a frontline company with a global reach, embracing music and culture. He is a successful music publishing A&R executive, now heading to be a successful entrepreneur in his own right.”
“We are always looking to grow and reach new places and people, and with Daniel [Seal] and Geo Music Group, the world is his oyster.”
Kenny McGoff, Kobalt
Geo Music’s platform uses data analytics to spot artists with “long-term potential.” Once signed, the company provides what it describes as “bespoke service” to support their careers.
The company also provides sync licensing and brand partnerships for its writers. The company stays involved in day-to-day publishing decisions and ongoing development.
Seal said: “Geo Music Group exists to empower artists and ensure they are maximizing income from their songs and publishing royalties. We are an artist-first company focused on fair and flexible deals.”
“Our team prides itself on offering a world-class, hands-on service and, through this partnership with Kobalt, our roster now has access to industry-leading publishing technology and fast, reliable royalty collection. I’m grateful for Kobalt’s belief in what we’re building and excited to support the continued growth of exceptional global talent.”
For Kobalt, the partnership extends its reach into new markets. Kobalt, which operates as an independent music publisher, serves more than 1 million songs through 10 offices worldwide. The company’s songwriters include Roddy Ricch, Max Martin, Karol G, Andrew Watt, Stevie Nicks, Phoebe Bridgers, The Lumineers, The Foo Fighters, and Paul McCartney, among many others.
“Geo Music Group exists to empower artists and ensure they are maximizing income from their songs and publishing royalties. We are an artist-first company focused on fair and flexible deals.”
Daniel Seal, Geo Music Group
Kobalt says it represents about 35% of the top 100 songs and albums in both the US and UK markets on average.
The Geo Music deal marks Kobalt’s latest partnership after the company entered into a global publishing deal with Madverse Music Group, an India-based distribution and publishing company, in January.
Last October, Kobalt teamed up with umn, a Berlin-based entertainment firm founded by former BMG executives Dominique Casimir, Maximilian Kolb, and Justus Haerder. The partnership focused on the acquisition of authors’ share and the publishing rights to the catalog of multi-award-winning German songwriters Peter Plate and Ulf Leo Sommer.
In July, Kobalt bought part of country songwriter Derrick Southerland‘s catalog. Southerland’s songs have generated over 1 billion streams and appeared in productions on ABC, Hallmark, and Netflix.
Kobalt also runs AMRA, a digital collection society that handles royalty payments from streaming services and online platforms.
In August, Kobalt signed a direct, multi-year licensing agreement with Spotify, covering the US market. As MBW explained, the agreement bypasses Spotify’s audiobook ‘bundling’ payment model, which took effect in March of last year and reduced mechanical royalty rates for publishers and songwriters in the US.
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