Collecting society the American Mechanical Rights Agency (AMRA) is now one plank in Kobalt’s ambitious plans to create a stir within the digital music ecosystem, having been acquired by the company two months ago. Yesterday, the relaunched society announced its first licensing deal: an agreement with Apple Music that will see AMRA tracking and collecting royalties from the service everywhere bar the US and Canada.
“AMRA was uniquely designed for this exact situation – a direct global deal with a major DSP to ensure rights-holders are fairly, accurately and transparently compensated for the use of their music globally,” said CEO Tomas Ericsson in a statement. Apple, unusually, made a public comment on the deal: “We believe the tech and music industries can work together to create better ways to collect royalties.” AMRA’s deal – with more to follow according to the company – allied to Kobalt’s recent $60m funding round led by Google Ventures, continues to make the company one of the most disruptive players in this market: and one not afraid to shout about its intentions.
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