Primary Wave and Kobalt CEOs Discuss Their Billion-Dollar Partnership — And Why ‘You’ll See a Lot More’ Consolidation in Music

Primary Wave and Kobalt’s leaders have discussed their partnership publicly for the first time since the acquisition closed in July. They say the deal brings together Primary Wave’s music catalogue business and Kobalt’s publishing and rights-management services, amid a broader wave of consolidation that is reshaping the independent music sector.

The companies began discussing a deal in summer 2025 after an introduction at a Goldman Sachs dinner. Their combined assets were estimated at $7 billion; Kobalt is to operate independently within the group. Primary Wave says it sees value in Kobalt’s administration platform, AMRA royalty-collection service and Kosign publishing service, while its own focus remains on marketing, branding and creating projects around music catalogues.