Kobalt has confirmed it has signed a worldwide agreement with EmPawa Publishing, which was founded by Mr Eazi.
An official press release stated that the partnership with the independent African music company “includes publishing administration, creative services and sync for all of emPawa’s catalogue and future works.”
Speaking about the deal, Laurent Hubert, CEO, Kobalt Music, said: “Mr Eazi and his team have built up an impressive catalog in a short amount of time. The excitement from their music and mission should be represented worldwide and we look forward to supporting them through our global creative teams and administration.”
Mr Eazi added: “We felt we needed a partner that, together with us, can land a heavy knock on the door in the meaningful exposure and optimisation of African music and writers to the world. This partnership with Kobalt will build on what we have done over the past year, maximising our knowledge of African music, writers, culture and history, now with a global tech-driven partner. Not only will we have access to the global Kobalt creative team but, via Kobalt’s tech, we can account properly in real time to everyone we represent. It helps us in our mission of accountability to creatives.”
EmPawa has enjoyed successes with songs recorded by Beyoncé, J Balvin & Bad Bunny, Major Lazer as well as hit singles by Mr Eazi and EmPawa artists such as J.Derobie, Killertunes, GuiltyBeatz, Whoisakin, and Joeboy.
Mr Eazi also initiated the EmPawa100 (2018/2019) and EmPawa30 (2019/2020) talent incubator program with the aim of helping emerging African artists with grants, mentorship, and education in the music industry.
Alison Donald, Kobalt Head of Creative UK commented: “Eazi is a truly inspiring entrepreneur who seeks to empower other artists alongside his own fruitful career. We are very excited to be in business with emPawa and we look forward to helping take emPawa to a larger worldwide audience.”
Miller Williams, Kobalt SVP, creative UK added: “I’m delighted that Mr Eazi and his team have chosen Kobalt as there’s so much great music emanating from Africa. emPawa’s mission of supporting local artists through funding, education and mentoring initiatives is a great fit with the Kobalt philosophy.”
In August, Tencent Music Entertainment Group and Kobalt Music Group reached a strategic cooperation to license and distribute the Kobalt publishing and AWAL recording catalogues on the Chinese streaming giant’s platforms.
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