AwesomenessTV is venturing further into the music biz. The Gen Z-leaning digital media company has inked a deal with Kobalt Music Group — a tech-oriented indie music publishing, label services, and neighboring rights company that works with top acts including Beck, Dr. Luke, Kelly Clarkson, and 50 Cent. Kobalt’s point of distinction, it says, is that it enables musicians to keep control and ownership of their music and video content.
Going forward, AwesomenessTV will work with Kobalt to unearth new musical talent across the web and distribute their work using Kobalt’s various services, according to Variety. At the same time, AwesomenessTV will launch Awesomeness Music — a new ad-supported vertical on which Awesomeness and Kobalt will split revenues. (A former Awesomeness Music record label venture was formed in 2014 alongside Universal Music Group, though that deal is no longer in effect, according to Variety.)
The first act to benefit from the new deal is Los 5 (above), an L.A.-based indie pop band whose members hail from Mexico, Argentina, and Brazil, and which is already within the AwesomenessTV network.
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“Music is important to our Awesomeness audience and has always been an important part of our content strategy,” said AwesomenessTV founder and CEO Brian Robbins in a statement. The company reps several high-profile YouTube-bred musicians, including Cimorelli. “With this partnership, we’ll give artists the tools to easily and independently build their own business and further engage with their fans by making great music and awesome video programming.”
“This partnership is an example of how we are taking on the restrictive legacy of the traditional music business and replacing it with transparent, smart, artist-friendly solutions,” added Kobalt founder and CEO Willard Ahdritz.
