Independent music rights management, publisher and label services firm Kobalt has raised an additional $600 million to acquire and monetize copyrights within its Kobalt Capital division. Kobalt had previously raised $205 million in multiple rounds, with Kobalt Capital previously raising an additional $350 million.
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Kobalt has has added $600 million to its Kobalt Capital fund to acquire music copyrights. Leading the round is RPMI Railpen, a UK workers’ pension fund, alongside other institutional investors.
Previous Kobalt acquisitions include a catalog of over 170 Steve Winwood songs from his days with Traffic and Blind Faith, as well as songs by Lindsey Buckingham from Fleetwood Mac and the B52s.
“Having crossed six years of activity in the first fund we have made over 100 investments and delivered attractive returns to our investors,” Johan Ahlström, CEO of Kobalt Capital Ltd said in a statement. “With the backing of prominent institutional investors, it validates our strategy and outlook for a robust music industry that is trending upward.”
Wired reported in May 2015 that Kobalt was “the top independent music publisher in the UK and the second overall (to Sony/ATV) in the US,” with around 8,000 artists and 600,000 songs in their catalog. With headquarters in London, Kobalt has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Nashville, Atlanta, Berlin, Stockholm, Miami, Hong Kong, and Sydney.