A major new music publishing company is being set up in the UK, the largest of its kind outside the US.
The company, Kobalt Music Publishing, said in a statement on Monday it would take over the publishing rights of major music labels and be owned by the UK government.
The new publishing arm will be known as the UK Music Publishing Group, and will be headed by the company’s CEO, Sir Tim Barrow.
The news was first reported by the Financial Times.
Kobalt will be the largest independent music publishing arm of any of the UK music publishing companies.
The move comes as the music industry struggles with record labels and publishers’ pressure on musicians to pay up, and the digital music industry is still struggling to adapt to digital download music sales.
Kobalts statement came after a meeting between Prime Minister Theresa May and Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek, and a meeting with US President Donald Trump.
The UK is set to leave the European Union, and has been negotiating with the European Commission to join the bloc.