Kobalt Music Group (Kobalt) has announced plans to invest up to 100m USD in the next 12 months in advances and acquiring music royalties. It will do so through Kobalt Capital Ltd, an FSA-regulated and authorized investment advisor.
Kobalt already manages more than 300,000 copyrights worldwide on behalf of over 1000 content holders and counts among its clients artists and songwriters such as Paul McCartney and MPL, No Doubt, Max Martin, Kid Rock, Dr. Luke, Ryan Tedder, The Hives, Björk, Garbage, Richard Ashcroft, Kelly Clarkson, Gotye, Skrillex, Herbie Hancock, Moby, Kid Cudi, Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, among many others.
However, the company has been largely built on encouraging artists and writers to hold onto their own copyrights.
This new investment fund will be used to acquire copyrights so that Kobalt takes ownership of them.
Willard Ahdritz, CEO and Founder of Kobalt Music Group, said: “In order to respond to existing and new clients’ needs for bigger advances, or part or whole acquisitions, Kobalt formed an investment advisory company in 2011 which now has substantial capital resources backed by blue chip family office and other institutional investors.”
Johan Ahlström, CEO of Kobalt Capital Ltd., further added: “As we enter our second year of activity of KCL we are looking at stepping up our investment in royalty advances and copyrights acquisitions with a focus on rights where value uplift can be achieved through Kobalt’s efficient royalty collections and value enhancement through active management and marketing.”Music Business Worldwide
