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How Indie Labels and Artists Can Benefit from Kobalt-Madverse’s Global Publishing Bridge

bbuddies

2026-02-14

10 min read

Tactical checklist for South Asian indie artists and labels to plug into Kobalt–Madverse, clean metadata, and negotiate better publishing deals in 2026.

Plug into global royalties without getting lost: a tactical checklist for South Asian indie artists and labels

If you write, produce, or run an indie label in South Asia, you already know the pain: great songs, limited global reach, and royalty streams that either never arrive or arrive late and incomplete. The Kobalt–Madverse partnership announced in January 2026 creates a new bridge—but bridges only work when you know how to cross them.

"Under the agreement, Madverse’s community of independent songwriters, composers and producers will gain access to Kobalt’s publishing administration network." — Variety, Jan 15, 2026

This article is a tactical, step-by-step checklist for indie artists and small labels in South Asia to plug into global royalty networks, cleanly present rights, and negotiate better publishing deals when working through the Kobalt–Madverse channel. It's written for 2026 realities: faster short-form discovery, hybrid monetization, and rising global appetite for regional catalogs. Expect practical next steps, negotiation scripts, and measurable KPIs you can use during talks.

Why this matters in 2026

Two quick trends to keep front-of-mind:

Global discovery is localized: Platforms and curators are hungry for regional language songs—short-form clips and localized playlists accelerated this demand in late 2024–2025 and carried into 2026.
Collection complexity is growing: With more revenue lines (streaming, short-form syncs, neighboring rights, mechanicals, AI uses, and cross-border licensing), simply uploading tracks to a distributor won’t capture all royalties. Specialist publishing administration and global collecting networks matter more than ever.

What Kobalt–Madverse changes for you

Kobalt is known for wide administrative reach and transparency tools; Madverse brings deep local relationships in South Asia. Together they provide:

Direct global publishing administration: registration, royalty collection, and foreign sub-publishing reach.
Improved mechanical and performance collection: faster, more accurate claims across territories that historically under-collected.
Pitching and sync pathways: curated access to sync teams and international campaign support.

Before you engage: pre-meeting checklist (must do)

Do these preparatory tasks to make negotiations fast and favorable.

Catalog audit (72 hours):
- List every track with title, release date, ISRC, and audio file location.
- Confirm ownership status: who owns the master? who owns the composition? Note any third-party samples.
Collect metadata & identifiers (1 week):
- Ensure ISRCs for masters and IPI numbers (writers/producers) for compositions.
- Prepare standard split-sheets signed by contributors. If you lack signed sheets, prepare a clear digital statement of splits and be ready to notarize if required.
Register with local PROs / collecting societies (2 weeks):
- Register compositions with IPRS (India) or the relevant national society for your country. If you’re a label, register performers with PPL or relevant neighbouring-rights collectives.
- Confirm bank and tax info for international payouts (SWIFT/IBAN), and supply VAT/GST IDs if applicable.
Export previous royalty statements (as-is):
- Gather statements from DSPs, distributors, and publishers for the last 24 months—this helps with baseline royalty expectations and potential audits.
Document business structure and rights flow:
- Prepare a one-page flowchart showing how rights and revenue move from DSPs to label/artist to you today.

Key questions to ask Kobalt–Madverse before signing

Use these to compare offers and avoid surprises.

Administration fee & scope: What percentage for publishing admin (typical range: 10–20%)? Does that fee cover global mechanicals, neighboring rights, and direct licensing?
Territory & exclusivity: Is the agreement worldwide and exclusive for publishing rights? Can you retain certain rights (e.g., sync-retained, film-exclusive) for specific territories?
Sub-publishing & approvals: Will Kobalt appoint sub-publishers? Do you get approval rights for specific territories or catalogs?
Advance & recoupment: Is there an upfront advance? How is it recouped and from which revenue streams?
Reporting cadence & transparency: How often are statements delivered? Does the portal show line-level data by territory and DSP?
Audit & audit window: Do you have the right to audit? If so, how often and at what notice? Is there a time limit on claims?
Termination & reversion: Under what conditions can you exit, and how do rights revert? Is there a sunset clause for previously administered income?
Sync pitching & placement: What practical services (pitch decks, contacts, campaign support) are included for sync and neighboring-rights exploitation?

Negotiation playbook: tactics & templates

Negotiating a deal isn’t just about percentage points. Here are tactical levers to improve economics and control.

1. Anchor on services, not just fee

Ask for explicit service-level commitments: upload timelines, issue-resolution SLA, & dedicated account manager time. If Kobalt or Madverse gives you strong reporting and proactive pitch support, a slightly higher fee can be worth it—especially if they increase collection in core territories.

2. Carve-outs that matter

Sync carve-out: Retain sync approval for film/brand uses above a negotiated fee threshold (e.g., > $5,000) or retain 100% sync negotiation rights while granting administration for collection only.
Local-market exclusivity: Consider non-exclusive terms for a trial period in some territories, then move to exclusivity based on performance KPIs.

3. KPI-driven clauses

Attach performance-based triggers:

Example KPIs: 12-month increase of X% in collected foreign mechanicals or Y sync placements per year.
If KPIs aren’t met, lower the administration fee by Z% or allow early termination with 90 days’ notice.

4. Audit & transparency

Negotiate a biannual audit right with a clear audit scope (line items, territories, DSPs) and a cost-sharing agreement if discrepancies exceed a threshold. Insist on machine-readable statement exports (CSV) so you can run your own checks.

5. Payment timing & currency

Ask for quarterly minimums and the option to receive payments in major currencies with a transparent FX fee schedule. Slow conversions and hidden fees can erode small receipts quickly.

Operational checklist: onboarding and first 90 days

After you sign, do these to accelerate collections and monitoring.

Upload and verify catalog (Day 1–14):
- Bulk-upload metadata, ISRCs, and split-sheets into the Kobalt portal via Madverse onboarding.
- Verify each work is registered with local & major foreign PROs (PRS, ASCAP/BMI, SOCAN as relevant).
Map revenue lines (Day 15–30):
- Confirm which revenue streams Kobalt will collect: mechanicals, performance, synchronization fees, neighboring rights, and digital uses (including short-form pools).
Set reporting & alerting (Day 30–45):
- Configure notifications for new claims, payments, and disputed items; request CSV exports that match your internal ledger fields.
Sync pitching & campaign alignment (Day 45–90):
- Agree on a 6-month sync and playlisting plan that includes target markets, pitch materials, and responsibility for creative assets.

Technical must-dos for cleaner royalty flows

Little technical fixes often unlock significant new revenue.

Standardize metadata: Use one canonical source (spreadsheet or DAM) and keep it updated. Mismatched titles or punctuation create unclaimed royalties.
Use DDEX formats where possible: For larger catalogs, request DDEX-compliant exports and imports—this reduces matching errors across DSPs and collection agencies.
Track ISRC & IPI linkage: Make sure the correct ISRC is linked to the right composition and split. Mistakes here mean royalties funnel to the wrong account.

Monitoring & growth: measuring partnership ROI

To know if the deal is working, track these KPIs monthly and present them in negotiation reviews.

Gross collections by territory (month-on-month and year-on-year)
Collections by revenue type: streaming mechanicals, performance, synch, neighboring rights, short-form pools
Time-to-payout: average elapsed time from collection to payment to your account
Unresolved claims: number and value of mismatches older than 6 months
Sync placements and revenue: count and realized revenue for placements pitched by Kobalt–Madverse

Common red flags and how to fix them

Watch out for these pitfalls during talks and onboarding.

Vague scope statements: If the agreement uses terms like "all rights" without clear exclusions, insist on a defined list (mechanical, sync, performance, neighboring rights).
No audit rights: Walk away or insist on an audit clause. Administration without auditability is a transparency risk.
Outdated contact points: If onboarding lists no dedicated account rep, request a named contact and SLA.
Non-committal sync promises: Ask for examples of previous placements in similar markets and what level of creative involvement they will provide.

Negotiation snippets you can use (copy-paste friendly)

Use these short scripts in emails or meetings to set anchors and protect rights:

"We’re excited about the partnership potential. To proceed, we need a written SLA covering reporting cadence, CSV exports, and named account support. We also request a 12-month performance pilot with the ability to terminate with 90 days’ notice if agreed KPIs are not met."

"We’d like to retain sync approval rights for any placement generating more than $5,000 and reserve the right to negotiate direct sync deals for branded uses within India. For global syncs pitched by Kobalt, we request a minimum notification period of 7 business days for review."

Case study (composite): how a Chennai indie label unlocked foreign mechanicals

This is a composite based on industry patterns—not a single artist’s confidential data. It illustrates practical impact when metadata and publishing administration are fixed.

Problem: the label had 120 tracks but mismatched ISRC/IPI pairs and no foreign registrations.
Action: they used Madverse onboarding and field tools (including a pocket camera & road kit) to clean metadata, registered works with Kobalt’s admin, and requested DDEX imports for large DSPs.
Result: within 9 months, foreign mechanicals and performance collections grew by a measurable margin and previously uncollected neighboring-rights claims in Europe and LATAM were captured and paid—improving cashflow and enabling two new recording projects.

Future-proofing: clauses for emerging 2026 revenue lines

As of early 2026, new monetization channels have matured. Include these clauses so you don’t lose future upside:

AI-use licensing: Define whether administration includes licensing for AI training or synthetic derivations and what percentage of revenue you expect.
Short-form claim pools: Ensure the agreement covers short-form DSP royalty pools and the process for claiming UGC uses if DSPs introduce new creator monetization mechanisms.
Web3 & NFTs: If you plan blockchain drops or tokenized rights, explicitly state whether such activity requires notice, approval, or revenue-sharing with the publisher.

Checklist summary: a one-page action plan

Print this and use it during negotiations and onboarding:

Catalog: complete ISRC & IPI mapping
Legal: signed split-sheets and clear ownership docs
Registrations: PROs and neighboring-rights collectives
Negotiation asks: admin % target, carve-outs, KPIs, audit rights
Onboard: DDEX imports, CSV reporting, SLA & named rep
Post-sign: track KPIs monthly for first 12 months

Parting notes: what success looks like

Success isn't just a lower admin fee. It's a steady uptick in previously uncollected foreign royalties, faster time-to-payout, meaningful sync placements, and transparency that lets you plan releases and reinvest in growth. With the Kobalt–Madverse bridge active in 2026, artists and labels in South Asia finally have a clearer path into global catalogs—if they come prepared.

Next steps & call-to-action

Start today with two concrete actions:

Run the pre-meeting checklist: complete a catalog audit and metadata clean-up this week.
Request a pilot: ask Madverse for a 12-month KPI pilot with named account support and CSV reporting. Use the negotiation scripts above as a starting point.

Want a ready-to-use checklist and negotiation email templates? Download our free one-page PDF tailored for South Asian indie artists and labels at buddies.top/resources (or reply to this article to request the template). Plug in your catalog, follow the steps above, and treat the Kobalt–Madverse partnership as a tool—one that amplifies royalties only if your paperwork, metadata, and negotiation strategy are aligned.

Ready to claim what you’re owed? Clean your metadata, set firm KPI terms, and negotiate for transparency. The bridge is open—cross it strategically.

buddies

Contributor

Senior editor and content strategist. Writing about technology, design, and the future of digital media. Follow along for deep dives into the industry's moving parts.