Kobalt

[Toonman]

Anyone's got any opinions on what these guys are doing? I'll try to get more info around the services they offer, but it seems that people trying new things is exactly what this industry needs right now. Comments?

https://www.kobaltmusic.com/

[Bob Olhsson]

Kind of odd they have been around for twenty years yet this is the first I've heard of them. There is no mention of what they charge artists or sync license users for all the talk about transparency.

[nobby]

The following article came out on MBW a couple of months ago.

MBW runs the gamut from objective to press release depending on where the info comes from, so bear that in mind:

Here’s how it works: the first rung of AWAL offers a fairly standard online distribution deal, for which artists sacrifice about 15% of their royalties, while keeping ownership of their copyrights.

That almost seems transparent but the word "about" drives a stake through that. Negotiable, apparently.

And, amongst the highly-talented or fast-risers, a selection get bumped up to AWAL Recordings, the full-service, label-esque tier of AWAL, offering artists everything from streaming playlist promotion to radio plugging, capital funding, targeted marketing and sync pitching. Crucially, it’s here that advance cheques based on the streaming trajectory of an act’s music start to be paid out.

In turn, these ‘AWAL-plus’ artists pay a commission which can rise to somewhere around 30%, but once again, they entirely keep hold of their copyrights.

"somewhere around" 30%

By casting its net wide, then taking calculated bets on paying advances to artists whose careers show signs of acceleration, Kobalt believes it is creating the perfect antidote to the high-risk A&R on which much of the music business has been built.

"Casting its net wide" I think was made possible by streaming. I don't mention downloads because they aren't that popular and I think that market is mostly sewn up by Apple and Amazon. If, as in the old daze a record company had to eat a warehouse full of physical product because sales were far lower than anticipated, after providing a budget for recording, production, promotion, etc. that's commensurate with a warehouse full of physical product, that's a loss you can't take every day. Likewise, the relatively large budget that was needed for production and promotion was concentrated on a few of what the record company regarded as promising acts.

So in the 20th century model, a major label might throw 10 acts against the wall and one of them would stick. That act would have to cover the losses of the nine that didn't do that well or tanked and provide a profit.

With the Kobalt model, the artist doesn't just sink or swim as far as singing/ playing/ writing/ performing/self promotion is concerned but is responsible for production as well. Kobalt isn't paying the recording/ production/ promotion budget and get's "about" 15%.

This allows artists to throw tens of thousands (or whatever) of efforts against the wall and Kobalt sees which are the stickiest.

At that point, Kobalt decides to put money into the acts that show the most promise, and at that point they start getting the "somewhere around" 30%.

"When you have the full support of AWAL, there is no major that can do anything bigger to break you.”, they claim.

The article has more info on Kobalt and AWAL than I've seen anywhere else and IMO is worth reading in its entirety.

https://www.musicbusinessworldwide.com/ ... 6893470087

[Bob Olhsson]

Sounds like they are doing administration. 15% sounds a bit high. If I remember right, 5% is common for worldwide collection. In Europe, publishers do the promotion and expect around 25%.