Kobalt estimates that more than $1 billion in publishing royalties are left uncollected every year.

This issue often disproportionately affects emerging artists and songwriters, whose careers may be taking off but who may not yet have the industry knowledge or team necessary to register their songs properly.

As anyone who has worked with early-stage artists and songwriters knows, this is a crucial phase of their career. Not being able to access royalty payments risks permanently stifling their trajectory, preventing them from investing in themselves right when they need it the most.

Kobalt hopes to change all this with its new invite and application-only publishing platform, KOSIGN.

Launched in February, KOSIGN was built to help emerging artists, producers, and songwriters claim their share of the uncollected publishing royalty pool.

Aiming to bridge the gap between traditional publishers and DIY publishing administrators, KOSIGN offers what Kobalt claims to be a “frictionless alternative to traditional publishing deals”.

According to the KOSIGN website, contracts run on a rolling term with an 80/20 split in the member’s favor on royalties collected. Songwriters keep 100% of their copyrights.

Jason Feinberg, Senior Vice President and Head of KOSIGN, tells MBW that the platform has already seen “thousands of applicants” from 88 countries.

“We’ve been thrilled with the interest, feedback, number of applications, and how quickly the word is spreading,” he says. “Although a selective application process means we don’t accept everyone, an impressive array of artists have been brought into the fold.

“We’ve already registered over 12,000 songs in the first few months, and the caliber of talent has exceeded our initial expectations.”

The platform is built on Kobalt’s existing infrastructure, using the same royalty collection system “trusted” by Kobalt’s superstar client base (The company serves over 700,000 songs from a roster of songwriters that includes Max Martin, Paul McCartney, Stevie Nicks, Childish Gambino, Karol G, Bon Iver, and more.). Feinberg says that “the product is already time-tested and best-in-class.”

KOSIGN uses Kobalt’s “industry-leading technology” to identify song plays, streams, and views.  It also licenses music publishing rights directly with streaming services, and claims to speed up royalty collections to “typically within three months, not the usual year or more”.

“I see KOSIGN as defining an entirely new marketplace category.”

Jason Feinberg

Feinberg has spent his career working at the intersection of artist development and technology, having previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing at Universal Music Group and Head of Artist Marketing at Pandora‘s AMP platform.

He tells us that Kobalt’s new platform “occupies a rare and exciting space: a promising new business inside an industry leader”.

Feinberg adds: “I see KOSIGN as defining an entirely new marketplace category. The product is already time-tested and best-in-class. The team are experts and thought leaders. I don’t need to worry about the foundation. That frees us all up to do two fundamental things: innovate and scale.”

Here, five months after KOSIGN’s launch, Feinberg discusses the product’s rollout, uptake, and roadmap…

Have you noticed any patterns in the types of artists applying – are they primarily DIY acts for example, or are you also seeing interest from songwriters or producers who are already working with publishers but want more control?

We’re seeing applications across the entire spectrum.

KOSIGN is a perfect home for a DIY artist who is gaining momentum and needs to ensure all songwriting royalties are collected accurately. This early phase is so critical for their growth; with our speed and deal structure these artists are able to reinvest in themselves and capitalize on their trajectory.

We’re also onboarding writers further along in their career who demand the best publishing admin on the market, but with extreme flexibility. Many have their own creative infrastructure or have built an enterprise outside the traditional industry channels and simply need comprehensive global collections made easy.

Have you noticed any patterns in terms of the geographic location of artists, songwriters or producers applying?

Although we are open to and are already working with artists worldwide, we’re seeing the majority of applications coming from the US, UK, Australia, and other English-language markets. We’re also seeing a growing number of artists coming in from Japan, South Korea, India, and Spanish-language markets in Mexico and LATAM.

What’s been the most common feedback from KOSIGN members so far?

The most common feedback we’re getting is that the power of the Kobalt toolset (our award-winning dashboard and tech, benefiting from direct deals, access to amra, etc) combined with the most flexible deal terms in the market is a formidable offering. KOSIGN has no retention period, and that allows writers to move around freely if their needs change. Some platforms have sufficient collection tech; others have somewhat flexible terms. But nobody can offer the combination we can, and our clients clearly see that value.

“Clients also place value in the fact that when they sign up for KOSIGN, they are in Kobalt’s ecosystem.”

Clients also place value in the fact that when they sign up for KOSIGN, they are in Kobalt’s ecosystem. As their career grows, should a formal publishing deal materialize with Kobalt, the lack of interruption to revenue collection and the connectivity to some of the industry’s leading publishing, sync, and creative experts is quite compelling.

What about industry feedback; what’s been the reaction from artist managers and other industry professionals?

Given the multitude of business types that have a share in publishing royalties, we’re finding that managers, publishers and other industry partners appreciate that we can plug into nearly any business model they utilize.

We are quick to onboard, provide deep detail of collections, have a world-class bench of publishing experts across the entire Kobalt organization, and are nimble enough to embrace client feedback and quickly evolve the product. We’ve learned many things from our industry partners since launch, and are iterating accordingly.

Have there been any unexpected challenges or success stories that have shaped how you’re developing the platform?

Every single day. We exist in an industry that has diverse business models, tremendous complexity, and somehow moves lightning fast and glacially slow simultaneously.

We’ve seen so much in such a short time – helping artists collect back-claims they would have missed, educating artists on PROs and other registrations, being there when a big sync hits and ensuring every dollar owed is making its way to the writers…

“We exist in an industry that has diverse business models, tremendous complexity, and somehow moves lightning fast and glacially slow simultaneously.”

But it isn’t without challenges. Our business is built on information, and when it isn’t available – or wrong – the entire process slows down. When you deal with clients across multiple scales and levels of business complexity, it’s impossible to have a one-size-fits-all platform.

Fortunately, KOSIGN admin is Kobalt admin. The institutional knowledge and product sophistication allows for a problem solving process that is time-tested and can iterate quickly.

Five months in, how is KOSIGN differentiating itself from other publishing admin services in the market? What’s your biggest competitive advantage proving to be?

Simply put: The best-in-class publishing registration and admin tools that have been developed and used inside Kobalt for some of the biggest songwriters in the world are now available to an entirely new cohort of artists.

“Granting a wider set of artists access to a premium platform, without the commitment of a formal publishing deal, is unheard of in our industry.”

Granting such premium platform access to a wider set of artists, without the commitments of a formal publishing deal, is unheard of in our space – and a tremendous competitive advantage for KOSIGN.

The 80/20 split in favor of artists is competitive – how sustainable is this model as you scale, and are there plans to adjust terms based on volume or artist tier?

We agree that our pricing is competitive – especially when you factor in what makes KOSIGN a premium product in the space, such as efficiencies created by Kobalt’s deals, access to AMRA, a comprehensive dashboard, and other structural benefits.

A fair, flat rate also keeps things incredibly simple, ensuring the platform stays efficient and scales. Straightforward terms help make that possible.

That said, we know that in some cases – based on volume, structure, or the nature of the partnership – it might make sense to explore a different setup. We’re open to those conversations when the situation calls for it.

Looking ahead, what are your biggest priorities for KOSIGN’s development? Are there new features, territories, or services you’re planning to roll out?

As we open up Kobalt’s core to a new tier of artists, additional use cases are becoming clear. The nuances of how KOSIGN clients run their operations require additional features or approaches. Artists with different team structures (or no team at all) need different levels of insight and access while keeping things streamlined. Innovating on the client experience while maintaining comprehensive, transparent collections is the primary mission.

Scale will come from many places. I’m excited to continue to talk to potential partners across multiple industry sectors and territories. We’re already getting interest from many directions and it’s an area of particular focus for me.

Jason, you were recently appointed Senior Vice President and Head of KOSIGN, what was at the top of your to-do list coming into the role?

From day one I had a clear mission: Quickly increase KOSIGN’s velocity while learning enough about our clients and company to develop a long term growth plan. And it had to be done in a way that upheld Kobalt’s culture and commitment to our songwriters.

As a business leader – especially at a startup – you have to balance many things at once. Quickly solidifying revenue generation strategy is critical, but premature decisions can sacrifice future scale for short-term wins. Building operational excellence is mandatory; our commitment to our clients requires meticulous attention to detail and I hold myself to that standard too. I hit the ground running on these key areas, while simultaneously making my way around the company listening to each team’s perspectives on KOSIGN.

I also quickly focused on culture and team cohesion. Effective communication, openness to feedback, rigor in hiring, respectful candor, and a “best idea wins” mentality are almost as critical as a sound business plan. Fortunately I came into a company that practices all of that regularly, so I simply needed to add my own approach to the mix.

What are your long term ambitions/projections for the platform’s positioning in the market?

When you take the power and value Kobalt provides, maintain the transparency that the company pioneered, offer fair and flexible terms, and package that up for an entirely new cohort of artists, you get something that simply doesn’t exist in the market today.

The positive impact we can make for artists, producers, writers, and the industry at large is wildly inspiring. I’m incredibly lucky to lead it.Music Business Worldwide