Global independent music publisher Kobalt struck a partnership with India-based Madverse Music, in a new publishing tie-up aimed at improving global royalty collection. This opens international opportunities for Indian and South Asian songwriters, composers and producers.
Madverse Music is a tech-driven distribution, publishing and marketing company that says it supports more than 150,000 independent artists and labels across India and South Asia. For Indian creators, the partnership is being pitched as an infrastructure upgrade, with Kobalt’s global administration designed to help ensure compositions are registered accurately, tracked properly and paid out efficiently as the music travels across platforms and territories.
Kobalt Music, founded in 2000, is best known for publishing administration and royalty collection services, with an emphasis on data and transparency. Under the agreement, it will provide Madverse’s creator community with global publishing administration across more than 180 territories, including improved royalty collection, enhanced metadata accuracy and expanded sync opportunities.
“This partnership with Kobalt represents a pivotal moment in our mission to empower India’s independent music community. For too long, Indian creators have left money on the table simply because the infrastructure to collect global royalties was broken and almost nonexistent,” said Madverse CEO Rohan Nesho Jain. “Publishing royalties are essentially a musician’s pension fund, they generate income long after the initial release, sometimes for generations. Through this collaboration, we’re ensuring that Indian independent artists can finally access and protect these earnings seamlessly, no matter where in the world their music is played. This is about more than just collecting royalties, it’s about building sustainable careers and giving our artists the financial foundation they deserve. When independent voices are properly compensated and protected, the entire music ecosystem becomes richer and more diverse.”
“Madverse has built an impressive ecosystem that supports one of the most dynamic independent music communities in the world,” said Simon Moor, managing director APAC at Kobalt. “By combining their creator-first approach with Kobalt’s global publishing infrastructure, we’re committed to ensuring Madverse songwriters and producers have the resources, accuracy, and reach they need to succeed on an international scale.”
Madverse said the collaboration reinforces its “Independent, Not Alone” positioning by offering creators increased transparency, stronger rights management and more efficient operational support, while allowing them to retain full ownership and creative control.
