Kobalt Capital Ltd. announced it has closed its second managed fund to invest in music copyright, with a capacity of $600 million through $345 million of equity commitments plus debt. The investment fund is being led by UK pension fund, RPMI Railpen (Railpen), along with other institutional investors.
The second fund comes on the heels of the Kobalt Capital’s first music royalties fund that launched in 2011 and spent over $350 million on music copyright.
KCL and Kobalt
KCL, a subsidiary of Kobalt, is a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated investment advisor of two music royalty funds owned by institutional and private investors. Kobalt Music Publishing enhances the value of the catalogs within the fund through Kobalt’s global technology platform and creative services, to the benefit of all parties.
“From day one, Kobalt’s position has been that we don’t own copyright because it creates a conflict of interest with our clients. I’m proud to say that we’ve shifted over three billion dollars in asset value back to all of our clients on our platform with this no ownership model,” said Willard Ahdritz, Founder & CEO of Kobalt and CIO of Kobalt Capital Ltd. “When our clients do want to capitalize on the increased value, which Kobalt has created, this managed fund with institutional investors gives them an option to sell their copyright and still stay with Kobalt – it’s been a very successful model.”
“It’s pretty amazing to see the growth in value of my catalog over the past eight years,” said multi-platinum selling songwriter, Lindy Robbins. “I think Willard and Kobalt’s tech platform is one of the main reasons my copyright was able to amass that value. So when I recently wanted to sell a portion of my catalog, I didn’t want to leave Kobalt.”
Johan Ahlström, CEO of Kobalt Capital Ltd., further added, “Having crossed six years of activity in the first fund we have made over 100 investments and delivered attractive returns to our investors. With the backing of prominent institutional investors, it validates our strategy and outlook for a robust music industry that is trending upward.”
Craig Heron, Deputy Investment Director at Railpen, said, “This opportunity provides us with just the type of long-term returns that we need to help us meet our mission statement to pay members’ pensions securely, affordably and sustainably.”
ABOUT KOBALT CAPITAL LTD.
Founded in 2011, Kobalt Capital Limited (KCL) is a Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulated investment advisory firm that focuses on music rights. KCL advises two investment funds, the first having been launched in 2011 and the second in 2017, which have a number of institutional and private investors. KCL was created to give copyright owners a better way to sell their copyright and receive capital. To date, the firm has invested over $350 million in music rights including copyrights, master recording rights and neighbouring rights through acquisitions and advances.
ABOUT KOBALT
Kobalt is the world’s leading independent music services company, built for artists, songwriters, publishers and labels as an alternative to the traditional music business model. Kobalt’s commitment to technology, transparency, and creators’ rights has driven tremendous growth year-over-year for the company and its clients. Today, Kobalt’s Music Publishing, Neighbouring Rights, and Recordings/AWAL divisions serve over 25,000 songwriters, 600 publishers, and 20,000 independent artists, including The Chainsmokers, Kelly Clarkson, Miles Davis, Dave Grohl, Zayn Malik, Bob Marley Max Martin, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Pitbull, Elvis Presley, Skrillex, Sam Smith, and many more. Kobalt represents on average over 40% of the top 100 songs and albums in both the US and UK.
Kobalt’s global technology platform is uniquely able to track and collect royalties for the billions of micro-payments per song in digital music today. Kobalt offers its clients a variety of services, including creative services, synch & brand partnerships, global licensing management, neighbouring rights, works and rights distribution, royalty collection and processing, the Kobalt and AWAL Portals and Apps, YouTube monetization, record release management, digital distribution and marketing. For more information on Kobalt, please contact: info@kobaltmusic.com, or visit us at www.kobaltmusic.com
ABOUT RAILPEN
Railpen is the investment manager for the Railways Pension Scheme which is one of the UK’s largest and longest established pension funds. Railpen is responsible for the safekeeping and investment of around £27 billion on behalf of the scheme’s 350,000 members who are connected with the railway industry. You can find out more about Railpen by visiting their website: www.rpmirailpen.co.uk
