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Kobalt announces $60 million in new finance
By Chris Cooke | Published on Friday 27 February 2015
Expansive music rights firm Kobalt announced this morning that it had raised another $60 million of that ever popular Series C funding, with Google Ventures and MSD Capital backing the next round of growth for the firm.
A long-term player in publishing rights administration, Kobalt has been growing rapidly in recent years, boasting that through its online rights management platform it offers “the most transparent, efficient and accurate royalty collection and reporting solutions”. The company has also moved beyond music publishing into managing the record industry’s neighbouring rights and offering distribution and label services to artists.
Adding to the $66 million already raised by the company, Kobalt says that the new money will be used to support its “commitment to serving artists and songwriters with unparalleled creative services and to further develop and scale Kobalt’s suite of technology solutions that efficiently collect and report music royalties in today’s complex digital world”.
Confirming the new finance, Kobalt boss Willard Ahdritz told reporters: “We take great pride in the fact that Google Ventures and MSD Capital both share our vision of technology and transparency working together to create a new industry structure in today’s complex digital world. We are relentless in our mission to increase trust between the music and technology industries in order to build a new infrastructure that benefits fans, creators, rights owners and DSPs, all together”.
Meanwhile Google Ventures Managing Partner Bill Maris said: “The music industry is going through dynamic changes all around the world and Kobalt will be instrumental in shaping its future positively for all constituents, starting with artists. The company’s solid execution over the past decade coupled with Willard’s unwavering passion and commitment made this an attractive investment for us. Kobalt’s commitment to trust, transparency and technology has positioned it as one of the most innovative brands in media today”.