KNR Rings in the New with Bruno Mars, Calvin Harris, Sam Smith and More
- Agrees deals with global superstars Bruno Mars and Calvin Harris- 2014 breakout stars Sam Smith and George Ezra join roster- Also signs up Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters), chart-toppers Sigma and Norwegian duo Nico & Vinz- A record eight clients nominated for British Single at BRIT awards22nd january 2015, London:- Kobalt Neighbouring Rights (KNR) is kicking off the new year with a series of impressive new signings, including international superstar Bruno Mars, and Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris. Breakout British singer-songwriters Sam Smith and George Ezra, Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, British drum and bass chart-toppers Sigma, and Norwegian singer-songwriter twosome Nico & Vinz have also struck deals with KNR for the collection of neighbouring rights income.Regarded as one of the most successful solo artists in the world, US singer-songwriter Bruno Mars is responsible for some of the best-selling singles of all time, including ‘Just The Way You Are’. He has also landed five #1s on the Billboard Hot 100, faster than any male since Elvis Presley. In 2014 Mars took home the GRAMMY for Best Pop Vocal Album, alongside a BRIT award for International Male Solo Artist.Named the world’s highest-paid DJ in 2014 for the second year running by Forbes, Calvin Harris holds the record for the most UK top 10 singles from an individual album, notching up eight hits from his 2012 album 18 Months. Harris is also the first act to place three songs simultaneously in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs chart, all of which were taken from his 2014 album Motion (UK#2, US#5).Starting the year with six GRAMMY nominations including ‘Album Of The Year’ and ‘Best New Artist’, Sam Smith’s debut album In the Lonely Hour was also the UK’s second bestselling album, and the US’ third bestseller, of 2014 His single ‘Stay With Me’ was highlighted by Billboard as receiving the most radio plays of any song in Q3 2014. Smith was also named Critics’ Choice at the Brit Awards and winner of the BBC’s Sound of 2014.Like Smith, 2014 was a watershed year for George Ezra with the 21 year old’s debut album Wanted On Voyage reaching #1 in the UK album charts after 14 weeks in the top 10. He also made the top five of the BBC’s Sound of 2014.It was also a bumper year for fellow British duo Sigma, who notched up two UK number ones with ‘Nobody To Love’ and ‘Changing’ featuring Paloma Faith. The pair already have a number of 2015 dates lined up across Europe, as well as performances at the Future Music Festival series of events taking place in various Australian cities.US multi-instrumentalist Dave Grohl is well known on the international stage as the frontman/founder of Foo Fighters, as well as the former drummer of Nirvana. To date, Foo Fighters have sold over 30 million albums worldwide, and amassed 11 GRAMMY awards, including four for Best Rock Album – a record in the category. The band’s latest release Sonic Highways (2014) took top five spots in album charts across the world, including #2 in both the UK and US. It was released in conjunction with an HBO television documentary series of the same name, directed by Grohl.Capping off the new signings are Norwegian singer/songwriter duo Nico & Vinz. Winners of the European Border Breakers Award 2014 at Eurosonic Noorderslag, the pair have achieved widespread recognition, buoyed by the huge success of their global hit ‘Am I Wrong’. One of the most Shazamed songs worldwide, ‘Am I Wrong’ also made the top five of the Billboard Hot 100, iTunes Singles chart, and Spotify US and worldwide charts respectively.Ann Tausis, Managing Director of Kobalt Neighbouring Rights said: “This is such a fantastic way to start the year! We’re working harder than ever across all aspects of the business to maximise the Neighbouring Rights collection, and we’re very keen for our newest clients to reap the benefits of both our experience and our advanced technology when it comes to collecting what is owed to them.”In a record run, KNR clients, including Sam Smith, Calvin Harris, Jess Glynne and Sigma, have amassed a staggering 26 nominations at the upcoming BRIT awards, including eight of the 10 contenders for British Single.The full list of KNR nominees for British Single are:
- Calvin Harris – Summer
- Clean Bandit ft Jess Glynne – Rather Be
- Duke Dumont ft Jax Jones – I Got U
- George Ezra – Budapest
- Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars – Uptown Funk
- Route 94 ft Jess Glynne – My Love
- Sam Smith – Stay With Me
- Sigma – Nobody To Love
About Kobalt Neighbouring RightsKobalt Neighbouring Rights (KNR) offers a global service for artists and independent labels to collect their Neighbouring Rights income from the various relevant collection societies around the world.KNR’s Managing Director is Ann Tausis, who was previously at Universal Publishing for 20 years, most recently as Director, European Regional Administration.KNR prides itself on its bespoke, robust service to clients, drawing on secondary data to test reporting by collection societies and navigating the complex distribution policies and qualifying criteria in order to maximise revenues to artists. By making use of Kobalt’s market-leading technology platform, KNR is able to build a more accurate picture of revenues owed.The company represents, among others, Pitbull, Bob Dylan, Björk, Sam Smith, Bruno Mars, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding, Lenny Kravitz, Akon, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel.KNR was launched at MIDEM 2012 by executive chairman Hans Van Berkel, and continues to benefit from his inside knowledge and international relationships built up over 20 years of record label experience at Polygram, and 18 years in the Neighbouring Rights field as Managing Director of Dutch Neighbouring Rights organisation SENA.Based in London, KNR is a separate limited company operating as part of the Kobalt, and embraces the wider group’s ethos of transparency and timeliness of payments to clients who are guaranteed payment within 31 days after the end of the month in which money is received.