A founder and investor with a history of industry disruption.
“It’s safe to say that the music industry as we know it today was uniquely shaped by the pioneering mind of Willard Ahdritz. His foresight regarding the coming changes in the marketplace combined with his ability to reimagine standard practices has been a dynamite recipe for commercial success. For these reasons and more, we’re honored to present Willard with Music Biz’s Innovator Award.” — Portia Sabin, President, Music Business Association
Willard started out as a musician and the founder of Telegram Records and Publishing, which put Stockholm on the international music map. After completing his MBA, he spent seven years at L.E.K. Consulting in London, where formulating strategies and M&A execution gave him the tools for approaching problems with an analytical mindset.
After seeing the impact of the internet and digital distribution on music, Willard saw an opportunity to return to the industry and had a vision for how it could be transformed. He established Kobalt in 2001, pioneering the use of technology in music publishing by creating a global centralized organization supported by a platform that streamlines royalty collections. These innovations helped to reshape the industry and establish a fairer deal for creators.
Kobalt Neighbouring Rights, the largest NR agency representing 40% of the top 1000 artists, and AWAL, which introduced MaaS for artists, operated as Kobalt’s recorded music division before being sold to Sony Music Entertainment in 2021 for $430 million. In 2010, Willard founded Kobalt Capital, the first regulated music royalty fund, which effectively introduced music royalties as an asset class for family offices and institutional investors. Fund 1 was sold to Hipgnosis in Oct 2020 for $323 million and Fund 2 was sold in Oct 2021 for $1.1 billion to KKR/Hendel.
Under Willard’s leadership, Kobalt grew into one of the top three global music publishers, while its transparent, data-driven model has fundamentally changed how the business operates. Kobalt estimates that its model has so far earned over $10 billion extra for its creators, by collecting more in royalties and allowing them to retain ownership of the rights to their work.
In October 2022, Kobalt selected Francisco Partners to acquire a majority stake to invest in the company’s next phase, further support the global digital collection society AMRA, enrich its technological innovation, and expand Kobalt’s footprint as the leading independent global music publisher. Today Willard remains an active chairman of Kobalt, while looking to build on this work as an investor and advisor to younger companies — drawing on his passion and experience to work with entrepreneurs who have transformative potential and who are motivated by making the music industry fairer and more transparent.
A founder and investor with a history of industry disruption.
“It’s safe to say that the music industry as we know it today was uniquely shaped by the pioneering mind of Willard Ahdritz. His foresight regarding the coming changes in the marketplace combined with his ability to reimagine standard practices has been a dynamite recipe for commercial success. For these reasons and more, we’re honored to present Willard with Music Biz’s Innovator Award.” — Portia Sabin, President, Music Business Association
Willard started out as a musician and the founder of Telegram Records and Publishing, which put Stockholm on the international music map. After completing his MBA, he spent seven years at L.E.K. Consulting in London, where formulating strategies and M&A execution gave him the tools for approaching problems with an analytical mindset.
After seeing the impact of the internet and digital distribution on music, Willard saw an opportunity to return to the industry and had a vision for how it could be transformed. He established Kobalt in 2001, pioneering the use of technology in music publishing by creating a global centralized organization supported by a platform that streamlines royalty collections. These innovations helped to reshape the industry and establish a fairer deal for creators.
Kobalt Neighbouring Rights, the largest NR agency representing 40% of the top 1000 artists, and AWAL, which introduced MaaS for artists, operated as Kobalt’s recorded music division before being sold to Sony Music Entertainment in 2021 for $430 million. In 2010, Willard founded Kobalt Capital, the first regulated music royalty fund, which effectively introduced music royalties as an asset class for family offices and institutional investors. Fund 1 was sold to Hipgnosis in Oct 2020 for $323 million and Fund 2 was sold in Oct 2021 for $1.1 billion to KKR/Hendel.
Under Willard’s leadership, Kobalt grew into one of the top three global music publishers, while its transparent, data-driven model has fundamentally changed how the business operates. Kobalt estimates that its model has so far earned over $10 billion extra for its creators, by collecting more in royalties and allowing them to retain ownership of the rights to their work.
In October 2022, Kobalt selected Francisco Partners to acquire a majority stake to invest in the company’s next phase, further support the global digital collection society AMRA, enrich its technological innovation, and expand Kobalt’s footprint as the leading independent global music publisher. Today Willard remains an active chairman of Kobalt, while looking to build on this work as an investor and advisor to younger companies — drawing on his passion and experience to work with entrepreneurs who have transformative potential and who are motivated by making the music industry fairer and more transparent.