Kobalt Acquires Terry McBride’s 18,000 Song Nettwerk Publishing Catalog In Deal Estimated At $25 Million

Terry McBride and Nettwerk Music were once the darling of the new music industry for championing progressive flat licensing and a willingness to work with music tech startups. So it seems fitting that Nettwerk's 18,000 song catalog has been acquired by another company working to shake up publishing and the music business.

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KMC, the investment fund of Kobalt, has acquired a "significant portion of The Nettwerk Music Group publishing catalog, including more than 18,000 songs developed and acquired by Nettwerk over the last 30 years, and entered into an exclusive administration agreement to administer Nettwerks' retained titles and future signings.

Nettwerk's catalog includes songs from 10,000 Maniacs, Teenage Fanclub, Wayne Hancock, Paul Brady, Jesse Malin, Sinead O'Connor, Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy and dozens of others. Details of the deal were not released, but the catalog was being shopped at an estimated value of $20-$25 million."In a digital world where streaming has become the predominant way we consume music, it is important that our artists are partnered with the best technology company in the publishing space to see the full value of their creations," said McBride. "KOBALT simply is the best, and also the most transparent. We are very happy KOBALT will be the new home to NETTWERK's 30+ years of legacy, as well as our partners moving into the future."KOBALT Founder/CEO Willard Ahdritz added, “I am excited that KOBALT will be servicing KMC's new acquisitions of NETTWERK copyrights with so many great writers and works in their catalog. Terry has built a great company and I’m thrilled to welcome him and his team into the KOBALT family.”