Kobalt’s AMRA posts 28% increase in Spotify, YouTube earnings

The American Music Rights Association (AMRA), owned by music publisher Kobalt, which claims to be the largest independent music publisher in the world, reported increased earnings from both YouTube and Spotify in Q3 2015. During its first three months of administering Kobalt’s catalog in Europe, AMRA saw a 26% increase in Spotify earnings and a 34% increase in YouTube earnings for the publishing client. Continue Reading

Kobalt introduces new global digital music collection society

Kobalt, a London-based music company offering label, publishing, and rights services, has launched a new digital rights collection society. The new society is called the American Music Rights Association, and is based on a U.S. collection agency that Kobalt purchased last year. It will offer both mechanical and performing rights services at a global scale. Continue Reading

Kobalt’s songwriters got more money from Spotify than iTunes in Q1

Publisher Kobalt announced that for the first time, its writers received greater royalties from Spotify than from iTunes. During the first quarter of 2014, Spotify royalties in Europe were 13% higher than those earned from iTunes downloads in the region. We’re still a long way from declaring victory for the streaming financial model, since this change has only been observed in Europe for Kobalt’s stable of about 6,000 songwriters and artists. However, Spotify’s first success over the long-dominant Apple-owned store is still a notable milestone. Continue Reading