Kobalt increased revenues by 25.3% to $402.1 million (£308m) in its fiscal year ending June 30, 2018.
The independent also reported that collections grew by 30% to $494m (£378.4m).
The company expects continued growth to more than $600m (£459.7m) in gross collections for the current fiscal year ending June 30, 2019.
Gross profit for 2018 was up 23.6% to $52.5m (£40.2m).
“We’re outpacing the industry in terms of growth,” said Willard Ahdritz, founder & CEO of Kobalt. “We’ve been laser-focused on building out the global team to support the rapidly growing music industry and setting up creators for success. We’ve established ourselves as the technology leader in the industry, and we are deeply investing in building innovative new products and services across the music ecosystem to super-serve our roster, across publishing, recordings, collections, neighbouring rights and sync.”
We’ve been laser-focused on building out the global team to support the rapidly growing music industry
Willard Ahdritz
Recordings business AWAL was up 50% in revenue terms in 2018. The label’s signings include The Wombats, Lauv and Little Simz, as well as a partnership with Glassnote.
“We are very excited by the rapid growth of AWAL, our recordings business, which achieved growth of over 50% in the last fiscal year and is anticipated to continue a similar growth rate this year,” said Ahdritz. “Through its unique multi-tiered model, AWAL is designed to serve artists at all stages of their careers on a scalable platform.”
Kobalt’s publishing division grew revenue by 20% year-on-year. Recent signings include Childish Gambino, Marshmello and Enrique Iglesias.
Ahdritz added: “Our growth over the past couple years is largely attributed to this focus on the creators. No one is making more investments in building services and products to help creators, and we don’t see any end in sight for our growth. The next year will be even better and we look forward to further building out the new music industry structure creators and rights holders deserve.”
Kobalt management are reviewing the potential impact from Brexit, according to the company’s strategic report.
The company’s global headcount grew from 376 to 515 employees and it has since expanded in Canada.
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