Interstellar Music Services has launched with the appointment of two high-profile additions to its senior leadership team.
The company has been established to offer a tailored approach to rights management. Promising a creator-centric vision, Interstellar said it will “combine the flexibility and value of DIY creator services with the administrative support and access of a label and publisher, with a view to ensuring artists and songwriters see greater returns from their music”.
The bespoke service will primarily be made available to artists and songwriters who wish to retain full control of their recordings and compositions. Interstellar will work to maximise the collection of royalties through a suite of services including digital distribution, sync and brand partnerships, metadata cleaning, neighbouring rights, publishing administration, DSP repitching and detailed analysis and reporting.
The company was co-founded by artist manager Andy Robinson and cross-asset speculator Sean Stockdale.
Joining the team at launch are former Kobalt Music Publishing SVP David Wille (pictured left), who takes up the role of global head of sync and brand partnerships. Sarah Bargiela (pictured right) joins from BMG to take up the role of head of copyright and royalties.
Andy Robinson, co-founder and CEO, said: “Through my time in the industry, particularly as an artist manager, I have seen first-hand how complicated it is for artists and their teams to ensure that their music is correctly registered and that they are benefiting from the value of their creations through the right licensing opportunities. It should not be so burdensome. Changing industry dynamics now mean that artists – rightly - have more choice and autonomy over how they can release and manage their music.
“We want to support this by providing a professional music rights management service that enables them to maximise the value of their creations without the need to relinquish any ownership of their work. Our mission, which is focused on putting the artists and songwriters first, is fundamental to the way we operate; to have industry professionals of the calibre of Sarah and David joining us at such an early stage is a real endorsement of the culture and service offering we have developed.”
Andy Robinson has over 15 years of music industry experience, covering music marketing and strategy, music publishing, rights management, and artist and label services. Starting his career as an artist manager, he previously founded Interstellar Music and Interstellar Publishing.
Sean Stockdale has 13 years of experience in asset management.
Sean Stockdale, co-founder and COO, added: “Coming from outside the industry has given me a unique perspective on the challenges that exist in how music is valued and compensated. Not only are artists all individuals, so are the songs that they create; every copyright has different requirements and should be treated as such.
“As an asset manager, it is my role to optimise the opportunities for the music we have the honour of representing, rather than simply telling artists to make more, try harder or change their process. The opportunities for music are vast and I believe it is time to work more proactively and to think creatively about how to place music on behalf of clients. The creators do their bit, then it is up to us to find the opportunities for their music, whatever their individual sound may be. That is the mission for Interstellar.”
David Wille, global head of sync and brand partnerships, said: “Andy and Sean have a clear vision of what they want to achieve with Interstellar and the focus on mission and culture is what ultimately motivated me to join. In today’s ecosystem, artists, songwriters and rights-holders are working hard to service a new set of demands and expectations, but there are also many opportunities that are overlooked; music is not bound by borders, and neither will we be. I am driven by the opportunities that are out there to support songwriters and artists and I want to use the knowledge and networks that I have built over many years to ultimately support the value of their creations.”
Sarah Bargiela, head of copyright and royalties, added: “For me the attraction of Interstellar, which is taking a success focused and forensic approach to metadata analysis and licensing, is the boutique element whereby the team is motivated to explore every opportunity and every overlooked data source and income stream that artists can access. The strategy of combining technology and human resources to leverage tech and augment experienced individuals rather than replace them, ensures that all bases are covered and no opportunities are overlooked. I am looking forward to working with a team that understands the value of metadata and the need to remain agile in a fast-evolving industry. Our aim is to build something special at Interstellar.”
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