Heatwave, a London-based label that aims to sign artists from emerging markets, has formed a joint venture publishing agreement with Kobalt.
According to the announcement, the new agreement will see the two companies team up to “discover and nurture new artists, songwriters, and producers from around the world.”
Heatwave was launched this year by former Managing Director of Syco Music, Tyler Brown, and Harold Serero, former senior A&R executive at Ultra Music Publishing.
Headquartered in London, Heatwave, which describes itself as “a borderless label focused on connecting the dots for music worldwide,” unveiled its recording division in September after partnering with Too Lost, a US-based music and technology company that works with independent music rights holders.
Heatwave Records says it has already celebrated several signings with Nigerian artists Fido and Kvng Vinci, alongside Ivory Coast’s døpelym. Another recent signing is DJ Lalo & Jotta from Ecuador, whose track Robanda has become a viral hit across South America and is currently Top 70 on the global Shazam chart.
The first signings from the new publishing joint venture with Kobalt Music include producer Dave Nunes, who has worked with Sarz, Asake, Skrillex, Gunna, Ayra Starr, Sevdaliza, Ty Dolla $ign, Mahalia, Fireboy DML, and others.
Co-publishing agreements are also in place for Active by Travis Scott and Asake, Go Pato by Pato Banton, which the company says “has become an anthem” in South America and has over 300 million streams, and HAUSAPIANO feat. Zerrydl, which is currently Top 5 in Nigeria.
In addition, Tyler Brown, Co-Founder of Heatwave, has announced an extension of an existing agreement with Kobalt Music for his own company Funfair Publishing.
This follows the success of the company’s first signing, James Essien, who co-wrote Rockstar by Lisa, which went to No. 1 on the Global Billboard Chart and has over 600 million streams across all DSPs. Essien has previous releases with Tyla, Mahalia, Tom Grennan, Clean Bandit, and James Blunt and has upcoming releases with Joji and H.E.R.
“Harold and I are excited to be working with Kenny and the Kobalt team on this new venture.”
Tyler Brown
Tyler Brown, said: “Harold and I are excited to be working with Kenny and the Kobalt team on this new venture. We’ve been impressed by their presence and success globally so it felt like the perfect home for Heatwave Publishing. We’ve got off to an incredibly fast start and we want to keep that momentum going.
“Our mission is to discover, develop and have the biggest hits in the world with the next generation of global superstar artists, songwriters and producers. The extension of the Funfair Publishing agreement with Kobalt was a natural progression following their amazing help and support to date.’
“It’s been an absolute joy working with Tyler and Funfair.”
Kenny McGoff, Kobalt Music
Kenny McGoff, Head Of Creative UK & GSA at Kobalt Music said: “It’s been an absolute joy working with Tyler and Funfair.
“His energy and taste are to be both admired and respected as is his knack of finding hidden gems. Now with Harold alongside him and the newly formed Heatwave I can only imagine what they going to do next. It’s really exciting to be part of and I am glad we at Kobalt are along for the ride.”Music Business Worldwide